The Tree Church Daily

Romans 8:31-34 (ESV)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Explanation:

You probably are familiar with the phrase, “the final say.” It most often refers to a person who has the authority to determine the final decision, as in, “Bob has the final say in what pizza we will order.” In the previous verses, the Apostle Paul lists four very profound designations that God has given us: predestined, called, justified, glorified. We do not have time to break every one of those down, but just know, to have each of these designations from God is a huge deal. These are found only in and through our faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ, there is no guarantee of these, but in Christ, God has given us new life.

In our reading today, Paul wants to further erase any doubts we may have that creep in about those designations. You see, we have a way of convincing ourselves that when God speaks these truths, somehow we are not included in the mix of individuals God could possibly be “for.” However, we read the truth that God isn’t begrudgingly putting up with us; rather, He passionately pursues, protects, and provides for us. Friends, the final say of God is that you are loved. Stop viewing your relationship with God through your own, or others’, man-made lenses. Simply put, those are not the ways God sees you. In Christ, you are qualified, called, redeemed, made new, justified, accepted…the list goes on and on and on. If you don’t believe me, believe Paul; believe the very word of God that you read today.

God is so extreme in His love and pursuit of you that He sacrificed His one and only Son for you. That same Son stands daily “interceding,” or advocating and defending you against anyone or anything that would want to bring a condemning accusation against you. In faith, we must believe this, embrace it, accept it, receive it, walk in it. God is always the one who has the final say, because He is the one who deliberately and carefully put all these new ways in motion. Let Him have the final say in how you live your life with Him.

Application:

1. What common misconceptions do you have about the way God views you?

2. How do you know those are misconceptions?

3. What does it mean for someone to be “for” something or someone?

4. Do you genuinely believe that God is “for” you? Why or why not?

5. How would knowing God is “for” you change how you live your life with Him?

Devo Plus:

Write down one truth that you need God to affirm in you. Pray that God will daily affirm that truth in you.

Prayer:

We see Your life and truths so dimly, Lord. Help us, through your Spirit, to see in new and powerful ways the love You have for us. Help us to believe and walk in the confidence that You are for us.

Psalm 103:8-18 (NLT)

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

He has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west.

The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—

as though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever

with those who fear him.

His salvation extends to the children’s children

of those who are faithful to his covenant,

of those who obey his commandments!

Explanation:

With stunning poetry, the psalmist assures Christ followers of God’s unfailing love. However, words alone cannot adequately describe the freedom of His love and mercy. We must experience it for ourselves. We don’t have to live with guilt and shame; He is gentle when we bring our sins to the cross. In the same way the east never meets the west, our sins will never find us under the cover of His everlasting love. Do you struggle with comparing yourself to others? He loves you like a father, just the way you are. Do you fear death? Your eternal destiny is sealed by His covenant.

God’s heart is that every person in every nation comes to know the fullness of His unconditional love. Once we experience it, we are compelled to model it for the lost and hurting people who need God’s love now in the middle of their pain.

Application:

1. What shape were you in mentally, emotionally, and physically when you first experienced God’s unconditional love?

2. Does that encounter inspire you to love others that same way so they, too, may come to know Jesus?

3. Today’s passage mentions three times that God extends His unfailing love and compassion to “those who fear Him.” What does it mean to “fear” God?

Devo Plus:

The apostle Paul also describes God’s unfailing love in Romans 8:38-39.

Prayer:

When you pray, thank God for loving you with His unfailing, everlasting love. Ask Him to bring people to you who need to experience this love for the first time.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Explanation:

Paul wants his readers to understand the depth of love that God has for them. This is a topic he encourages frequently. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that we are nothing without love, and “the greatest of these is love.” In our passage today, he is highlighting a previous discussion, that we should approach God with “boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him” (verse 12), but also through humility in prayer. He emphasizes the Trinity…Father, Spirit, and Christ…to bring power and understanding of the existence of God in us. We can only experience the fullness of Christ in us if we root ourselves in God’s love. A kind of love that surpasses all understanding, has no end, and is reliant on faith in–not just knowledge of–Christ Himself.

I experienced the depth of God’s love after the loss of our daughter. My family had faith that there was a plan in our pain, and we could not process it alone. We prayed for God to give us strength to get through all of the unknowns we were facing. The days after her passing we worshipped with reckless abandon at Sunday service, no different than any other Sunday. It was the most familiar behavior we knew in the midst of extreme hurt and loss. The next few days could only be described as supernatural. There was an overwhelming peace that God gave not only us, but permeated through all of those around us. I had never felt more loved, cared for, and protected than I did in the first few years. God held me from the grips of grief. I didn’t grieve with raw, demonstrative emotion or the ways you would expect to see. I let the enemy speak the words “Why didn’t you love her enough to express your sorrow, your anger? Why didn’t you grieve properly?” But God. He held me closer each time I asked “What is wrong with me?” with tear-filled eyes. Each time the answer I got was peace. His endless love. My worship was proper love, it was the proper response to grief. I had no understanding of how to grieve properly. No knowledge I had of Christ was going to give this to me, but my faith and trust surpassed all understanding of how we got through it.

Application:

1. What is an area where you need to feel God’s love?

2. When we embrace the depth of love Christ has for us, we can act in love. What are some ways you can show love to others that might seem extreme?

3. Spend some time praying. God is accessible to you, so approach Him boldly with confidence as Paul instructs. Allow Him to lovingly enter your heart, and ask Him to show you ways to love deeper.

Devo Plus:

Read 1 Corinthians 13 to go deeper into understanding the way we are to love.

Prayer:

God, Your love is at times a mystery to us. Your never-ending outpouring of grace and mercies are found new every day. Shape my heart to align with Yours. Guide my actions to reflect the love You have for all creation. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (ESV)

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Explanation:

Have you ever heard the term “finishing well,” and pondered what it means to you? In this passage Paul was doing exactly that. Let’s frame this picture a little before we go on. Paul wasn’t sitting on a hillside looking over a meadow of spring flowers while the sunshine was beating down on his face and the birds were singing. Nope. He was in prison, and it was a prison that would make the ones in our society today look like luxury resorts in comparison. His cell was a dark, damp dungeon with no windows, lights, furniture, water or bathroom facilities. His cell could only be reached by a rope or ladder from a hole in the floor above. Even in this terrible situation, Paul was reflecting on finishing well.

Paul was focused on what was next, his eternal home with Jesus and the treasures he had in heaven awaiting him. In doing so, he painted the perspective on his present, past, and future. In the present chapter of his life, he’d spent years in ministry making disciples of others. When he reflected on his life after he’d started following Jesus, he was able to confidently say he’d done what he was called to do. He could have quit the race at the halfway point considering all of the troubles and trials thrown his way, but he didn’t. He kept the faith and finished the race. As he looked to the future, he had hope. He knew that when he left that horrible prison cell, he would be executed, but would meet his Father in heaven. He lived his entire life with expectation of his eternal reward, knowing that his right living would earn him eternal justice. Paul lived in view of the finish line, reminding us that the race isn’t always easy, but when we depart from this earth, there is a crown of righteousness awaiting those who persevere. I want to be like Paul, grasping fully what it means to finish well.

Application:

1. When you reflect on today’s passage, what hope can you find in Paul’s reflection?

2. What makes you feel like dropping out of the race? How can you find encouragement at those times to press on?

3. Is there someone in your life that you are trying to make a disciple of right now? Take a moment and pray for your words and actions to cause them to want to run the race beside you.

Devo Plus:

Read and reflect on these other Scriptures about running the race: Hebrews 12:1, Acts 29, 1 Corinthians 9:23-25.

Prayer:

God, I ask for You to give me Paul’s perspective: one where I can look back at the past and to have lived a life that is pleasing to You. Help me as I go through each day to keep a heavenly focus and press on to the finish line. Give me wisdom as I seek You, and help me remember that even when it’s hard, the race is worth it. Forgive me of my sins and shortcomings, as my human nature often fails You. Help me to make disciples of others in my words and deeds, and earn the eternal rewards that You have set aside for me. Thank You for Your grace and forgiveness, and for never leaving me even when it’s hard.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (ESV)

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Explanation:

If someone were to ask you how many hours of sleep you get on average every night, how would you respond? Nine? Five? Two? None? Let me follow that up with another sleep question. How many hours do you feel you need to be able to function properly in your every day life? You’ve probably heard it said that most adults need between seven to nine hours of sleep a night, but my guess is we all fall very short of that. We are designed to rest well and get good sleep. The effects of poor sleeping habits can be detrimental to our overall health.

We may need to sleep physically, but the same is not true about our spiritual lives. To have a sleepy spiritual life can make you unaware of how God is living and moving in the world around us. In today’s reading when Paul refers to being asleep, he is referring to one whose faith is not important to them. Maybe it is a person who does not believe in Jesus and therefore is not living for Him. They are living lives that are dimmed still by not having Christ in them. Their focus and hope is not set on Christ, and therefore is not set on the day He will come and fulfill the promise He made to give us eternal life.

But friends, when you received the Spirit of God through your belief in Christ, a light switch was turned on and you can now be spiritually awake and alert, in great hope of that day that Jesus returns. We have His power to live as children of His light in faith and in love. We must be purposed to actively seek the Spirit and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same. Be purposed to worship Him, pray to Him, read about Him, and let Him guide you in your everyday. Let Him be your light in a very dark world. Stay awake, friends, to the Spirit of God in you!

Application:

1. Why do we need the Spirit of God to help us walk as children of light?

2. How easy can it be for you to grow dull to the Spirit of God in you? Why do you think this happens?

3. What practices can you put in place starting today that can help you grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit?

4. Why is it important that we support and be supported by others in the church to walk in the Spirit?

Devo Plus:

Read Ephesians 5:8-17: The Apostle Paul is communicating a very similar set of truths. What else can you take away from these passages that can help you walk in the light of the Spirit?

Prayer:

Jesus, I thank You so much that You have given me Your light. I truly am walking in the dark without You. I need Your Spirit to keep me alert, awake, and focused on loving You and others throughout my entire life. Thank You for the hope of eternity. I look forward to being with You in eternity one day.

Romans 8:28-30 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.

Explanation:

I find in these passages one of the most amazing promises. God has promised that there is no circumstance in our lives that can thwart His good intentions for us. When we put our trust in God, He promises that nothing we experience is beyond His power. The question that most of us wrestle with is if God is making all things good, why do I still experience the “bad”?

Verse 29 gives us some more context as to what exactly God means by working us towards good. It is not just any good. It is not a comfortable life, or good circumstances as a retribution for the bad happening. It is that all things can work towards the good of making us more like Christ. This is the point and the payoff of our faith. In becoming like Christ, we are ushered into the life we were always intended to have. We are made into the humans we were always supposed to be.

Paul closes with a recap of this process. God calls, God justifies, and then through God’s power and our willing obedience, we get glorification by being made into “the image of His Son.”

Application:

1. Have you ever experienced a difficult season and yet found yourself closer to God?

2. What is something difficult you are experiencing now? Have you asked God what is the good he is trying to produce out of it?

3. Have you ever been disappointed by God? Were you ever able to see good in what He was doing despite the disappointment?

4. How can remembering God’s redemptive power and His promise to make you like His Son bring hope to your situations?

Devo Plus:

For further study on how God is transforming us, read Ephesians 4:17-32.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for always working us towards the ultimate good of being made into the image of Your Son. It is when we trust You like Jesus did and love others like Jesus did that we find the fullness of life. Help us to submit ourselves to this process and help us to trust when our circumstances do not make any sense. We love You, Lord. Amen.

Hebrews 10:32-39 (NLT)

Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

“For in just a little while,

the Coming One will come and not delay.

And my righteous ones will live by faith.

But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

Explanation:

Do you ever have a moment where you read a Bible verse and feel as though God was speaking directly to you? That is exactly what happened to me as I read this scripture I was assigned to write on this week. I love when God speaks to us through His word at just the right moment.

I feel this passage so deeply right now. I’m tired, I’m worn out, and honestly, my life in ministry and the weight of following Jesus just feels heavy right now. I feel ] like the person described in this passage: beat down, experiencing incredible tension, and walking through suffering. There have been many days lately where I just wanted to throw in the towel, hide in my house, and not come out until there is more peace and calm in the world. Anyone feel the same?

But then I turn to passages like the one we read today, and I am reminded that although we suffer now, something better is coming. Something better awaits. This passage reminds me to keep going, to keep looking to Jesus, to keep living my life in obedience to what He has called me to, especially when it is hard. Why? Because I know it is the better path. It is the path that leads to not just a full life while we are here on this earth, but eternal life. God has promised that for those of us who persevere, who keep going, who continue to be a light for Him, that our time of peace and rest will come. One day we will no longer suffer; we will be in the presence of God forever. Hold on to that promise today and keep fighting the good fight of faith, for a reward awaits us at the end of our days.

Application:

1. In what ways are you currently experiencing pain and suffering?

2. Why is it so important for us to persevere when we experience painful and hard situations?

3. What promises of God do you need to remind yourself of today to help you keep going?

Devo Plus:

Worship is my greatest defense in the moments when I feel like giving up. I encourage you today to spend some time in worship. Think about what helps and encourages you, and make sure to take time today to get into the presence of God. I know from experience that His Spirit will help you continue to walk out your life in faith. Here are some things you can do: journal, spend time in prayer, listen to worship music, take a walk, or dive into His word. Make it a priority today to spend time with the One who will help you through.

Prayer:

God, the things of this world are heavy right now. Some days we just want to give up. Will You please help us? We ask that when we get into Your presence, You will remind us of Your promises. That You will give us the peace, the strength, and all we need to continue to persevere in the hard moments and seasons. We know that there is an eternal reward waiting for us. We long to keep our hearts, minds, and eyes focused on You, knowing You will be with us and faithful through it all. Thank You in advance for being with us. Amen.

Romans 8:26-27

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Explanation:

Some college mates of mine graduated and headed to Detroit to start an inner city church in 1975. After repeated home break-ins and a Sunday in-service robbery where Steve had a gun held to his head while thieves collected money from parishioners hiding under pews, they decided to leave Detroit. They called us and asked if we would pastor the 25 committed people that had become the church. We had previously held revivals for this church, and I already loved the congregation. We said yes, and moved with a baby and two toddlers. I was beyond excited God had called us there.

The second day, as I ran an errand, I witnessed a horrific gunpoint robbery as I walked to my car. As the robbers gunned their car past me, I made direct eye contact with the man who had hit his victim in the head with the butt of his gun and who had left her bleeding profusely on the pavement. I was so scared I thought my legs were bending.

When I got home to my three little ones, I locked the door behind me and fell to my knees. I didn’t even know what to say to God, how to process my terror, or how to raise my three sons in this city. I stayed locked in my home, speechless before God. I had no words. I just cried, bowed my head, and allowed the Holy Spirit to pray through me. I was very familiar with today’s passage of scripture, and knew enough to sit in the process of allowing the Holy Spirit to help me in my weakness as my heart groaned in His presence and I wrestled with His will.

On the third day, God's peace broke through, courage replaced fear, and I was able to say yes to the will of God again. The Holy Spirit had aligned my heart and helped me discern the will of God. I never struggled with fear again because of the Holy Spirit's power to help me. I agreed with David in Psalm 20:7: “Some trust in horses and chariots, but I will trust in the Lord.” God protected me for 25 years. To this day, I believe one of the greatest gifts I gave my sons was to raise them in zip code 48205. I recently googled it to see it’s danger rating and marveled at God's faithfulness. If not for the Holy Spirit….

Application:

1. What fears render you ineffective for God and make you cower? Invite the Holy Spirit into that. He desires to help you. Practice sitting in the presence of the Lord and inviting the Holy Spirit to help you in your weakness…. and then stay in His presence. He will change your life.

2. What is such a big obstacle in your life that only the Holy Spirit is bigger?

Devo Plus:

“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised.” John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress.

Prayer:

Jesus, give us spiritual wisdom and insight, and flood our hearts with light. Help us understand the incredible greatness of Your Holy Spirit’s power for us who believe You – the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Help us to comprehend that this power is living and breathing in us. Fortify us today as we discern Your will for our day. Amen.

Romans 8:18-25

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Explanation:

Have you ever had to wait a long time for something? Perhaps a much needed vacation that you have been looking forward to, and you start counting down the days as it gets closer. Maybe waiting on an important call about a health diagnosis from your doctor, or a relationship that you hope will progress into something more. In the above passage, Paul is talking about the struggles of living out our faith in this world, dealing with our sin nature, and longing to be with Jesus. He goes on to say how the earth we live on, creation itself, awaits to be redeemed by Jesus. We are all experiencing the pains of hurt, decay, destruction, and fear in this world because of humanity’s disobedience that began in the garden of Eden. But Paul is reminding us that this suffering is temporary, and we as Christians will one day live with Jesus in resurrected bodies, on a new heaven and new earth. (Revelation 21)

Personally, I have gone through some tough times in my life. I was diagnosed with cancer as a child, which was a very difficult time, but a lasting effect of the chemotherapy I received was that it left me unable to have children. As I became an adult and got married, the longing to become a father grew. After many years of marriage, my wife and I decided we wanted to adopt a baby. Wow… what a wild experience that was! It was a long process of learning about adoption, taking classes, doing research, talking with others and saving money, but God’s faithfulness was amazing through it all. Then, we still had to wait some more. We were ready, but our child and birth mom were not revealed until the perfect time. God in His omniscience had a plan and knew what child we would adopt, and the time it would take for everything to fall into place. His plan was always good; it just took time to see it unfold. Now looking back, I see how God prepared us during that time of waiting, and He can do the same for you.

Friends, don’t miss what Paul is saying in this passage. If anyone understands suffering, it would be Paul, so he is not making light of what you are going through. What he is saying, though, is that these hardships are only temporary, and will not compare to our experience in God’s kingdom. Our hope is in the resurrected Jesus! For now, we wait and trust in God that He will be with us through all our difficulties.

Application:

1. We know that suffering produces endurance (Romans 5:3). What difficult times have you experienced in your life, and what was God revealing to you in this?

2. We all have had to wait on something at one time or another. What have you learned about patience, trust, and God’s perfect timing?

3. God promises to give us His Holy Spirit when we ask and put our trust in Him. How can this truth be applied to our lives as we wait on heaven?

4. Paul says, we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience, referring to the spiritual realm of heaven and having new bodies. How can knowing this truth help you in your everyday life?

Devo Plus:

Search the song “Wait On You” by Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music and listen to the lyrics, allowing them to remind you of who God is and what He does.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving me the privilege of allowing You to work in my life. I know it can be difficult at times to wait on You, but Your ways are good and Your promises are true. Thank You for Your grace and hope! I want to worship in Your presence, with my mind fixed on heaven and how truly amazing it will be! Remind me that this world is temporary but Your glory is forever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18 (NIV)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.

Explanation:

In these verses, Paul begins with a somewhat complicated analogy to illustrate a very simple point to the Corinthians: our lives are only vessels for God’s power. I love the way The Message version of the Bible puts it: that we carry God’s “precious message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.”

So what’s with all the affliction? Paul used these examples to show us all the ways we are broken so that no one will be able to confuse God’s incomparable power with our limited ideas. Affliction apart from God is just affliction; only He brings the light of His eternal perspective. Don’t get me wrong: I believe people can be strong and courageous. But their power is not their own. It all comes from God. No exceptions.

Paul goes on to tell us that our hard times on earth remind us of Jesus’ sufferings so that our lives can point toward a time and place free of all troubles. If we had it all together all of the time here on earth, our stories wouldn’t be relatable and usable to point others toward something and Someone better. The clay pots of our lives have been bumped and scratched more than the clearance table at Old Time Pottery. If ever there was a message we needed to hear in 2021, it is “DO NOT LOSE HEART.” In other words, DON’T GIVE UP. On the outside, we may appear to be completely falling apart, but Paul tells us God is making us new on the inside, one day of His Amazing Grace at a time. There is glory waiting for us that far outweighs our troubles and lasts forever!

Your story? He’s still writing it. Your battle? He’s still fighting it. Your pain? He’ll use it. And the common word in all of these sentences is “He”, not you. To Him be the glory!

Application:

1. Temporary things give us temporary renewal, but we were created to be complete only in the presence of Jesus. What are the temporary things in your life that are in conflict with you being a vessel for God’s Power?

2. Think about the words to the old hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,”: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. How does it make you feel knowing that all of our earthly problems disappear when looked at through the lens of God’s glory? Fixing our eyes on what we can’t see seems impossible, but therein you will find all that really matters.

3. While you may not agree that your troubles right now seem at all “light” or “momentary,” we can be encouraged by the second part of this verse: they are securing for us an eternity where none of our troubles will follow. Pause and thank God for this truth today!

4. I am a creature of habit, but there is only so far the Holy Spirit can take me if I am always focused on my own agenda. If I leave Him little space, He will fill little space. But if I make room for Him in all I do, He promises to fill all of that space. It sounds so easy but because of our broken lives, we still try to go it alone. Ask the Spirit to fill you anew and show you specifically where He wants you to make room for Him this week!

Devo Plus:

1. Listen to the song “You Get The Glory” by Jonathan Traylor and be reminded that no matter what you are walking through today, it will all be worth it in the end!

2. Watch this short but powerful video from John Piper on accepting our lives as “jars of clay”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbFUBWPWT94

Prayer:

Father God, despite being a difficult message to hear with our earthly ears, we thank You for the other half of the story. Our pain feels heavy and real in these times, but we know You are giving purpose to all of it. Help us to use what You’ve given us, troubles and all, to know for ourselves and spread to others the news of all that is to come in You. Guide us to fix our eyes upon You in all that we do, and forgive and renew us when we don’t. Teach our hearts the truth that You can fill us completely. You are enough. We love You and we praise You for this life and the one to come! Amen.