Welcome to this week’s “In the Little things” Podcast. Last week I told you how I accidentally flipped my car on the way to work one day and how God was so faithful to sustain me and protect me, even if it’s from myself.  Sure it’s hard for me to look back and recognize my own stubbornness and mistakes. But I know that God can and will use my mistakes and my imperfections to point to His perfection and His provision!  ~I wish I could say that I am always prepared for the lessons I have to learn, but the truth is that sometimes I don’t even know I have a lesson to learn!  It always seems that a lesson is about to come when I think I have everything figured out!It’s usually when I try to put myself at the top of the hill, where God reminds me that that is not where I’m suppose to be. It’s through these subtle and “little” reminders that God has taught me to stay humble and seek Him to help me get down off the hill of pride.… The journey down has never been guaranteed to be easy, pleasant, or even gentle! But sometimes it’s just quite embarrassing!

Scripture:   “Let me share with you another story.” In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it defines the word ‘embarrassment’ as being uncomfortable, disturbed, or being in an awkward or confusing situation. You may think that there are no “embarrassing” situations in the bible. But the truth is … There are many! For instance, in the book of Jonah,  Chapter 2, Jonah is swallowed up by a whale or large fish! In the book of Genesis, Chapter 6, God tells Noah to build a huge ark in the middle of a desert!  And so on…. Think about it for a moment. How uncomfortable and embarrassing would that be to have all the people you know find out that you were stuck in a fish’s mouth! It would be like posting it on the internet today and having everyone know your mistake! But interestingly enough, when you read these bible stories to children in Sunday school, Firstly… they laugh and secondly,  they will get embarrassed, feel sorry, or concerned for the characters in the story. ~The one thread that underlines most of these situations is how God deals with puffed up attitudes, or pride, and/or disobedience. God generally teaches us through a personal storm. He humbles us to realize Who God really is and why He does what He does is for our own good! Every step and even every misstep has a purpose!

Challenge: “Once in a while we need to ask ourselves, Why did my life take the turns it did? What did I learn from mypast experiences? and How has God revealed His unconditional Love to us?” Please read the following verses and write down your thoughts in your Journal.

(Genesis 6, 7, 11) (Numbers 22:21-33)(Judges 14), (Jonah 1-2).

Devotional Insight:  Nothing! Nothing! Nothing is a surprise to Our Heavenly Father! He always knows our vulnerability, weakness, and mistakes even before we know, yet He loves us deeply and profoundly through each step we take! He promises to walk through the “high and low” chapters of our lives and never will hurt us or forsake us! He is faithful! He is a Good Good Father! And He knows when to show us we have strayed, disobeyed, or we are acting foolishly! We need to be teachable and allow ourselves to be molded by Him.