Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Feeling Trapped?
FEELING TRAPPED?
Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? … This too is meaningless. —Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
Imagine a group of people being placed in a room without any exit. As much as they might try, there is no way out. They are trapped!
Today untold numbers of people feel trapped in the situations of their lives.
Some feel trapped in the everyday routine of running a household and raising children. A young mother with three preschool children told me that she was “climbing the walls” from boredom. Others dread going to work to face a never-ending round of “the same old thing.” Still others find themselves trapped in a wheelchair or a bed, unable to get out.
In 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul admits that life is meaningless without the risen Savior. Paul even says that if Christ has not been raised, we may as well live it up, as the Epicurean philosophers of his day suggested: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). Only the risen Savior can help us see that there is more to life than meets the eye.
If you feel trapped, turn to the Savior and ask him to open the door to the freedom he has come to bring: new life that we can live fully and forever with God!
Lord Jesus, we pray for all who feel trapped in their lives. Please bring someone to lead them to you and help them see that you alone can bring meaning to our lives. In your name, Amen.
Arthur J. Schoonvel
Regardless
Proverbs 31 Ministries"The process of being squeezed and uncomfortable can break us down, making us feel helpless, alone and sometimes even good for nothing.
We can question, God, where are You? Or, Let’s hurry this discomfort along, OK? (I’m famous for that!) Or even wonder, God, I thought You loved me. What did I do wrong?
Let me remind you of something, friend. Being squeezed by outside pressure doesn’t indicate God’s rejection, abandonment or that He made a mistake. Sometimes in His great sovereignty and love, God allows for our character to be refined.” - Michelle McKinney Hammond
Read the rest of today’s guest devotion as we find hope in God’s refining process: http://proverbs31.org/devotions/?p=3824
Choose Love
Lord, give me a heart that is sensitive to others so that I am never rude or selfish. Fill my heart and mind with Your truth so that I never entertain evil thoughts. Enable me to discard any offense from an irritating person so I can let it go and not carry it like a burden.
Today, ask God to help you love others in the way He wants you to, and to reject all indications of lovelessness. In Jesus' name.
-Choose Love c.stormie.co/kt4r
Touching Lives
Touching Lives
I am thoroughly convinced that there are people that cross our paths everyday that do nothing but discourage us and make us lose focus on the big picture of what God has called us to be or do. If we allow them to, they will steal our joy, our enthusiasm and our calling. When you come across such people, give them no time or opportunity. God is the source of our joy and we must spend our energies focused on Him alone! - Ron Lambros, President, Touching Lives
I am thoroughly convinced that there are people that cross our paths everyday that do nothing but discourage us and make us lose focus on the big picture of what God has called us to be or do. If we allow them to, they will steal our joy, our enthusiasm and our calling. When you come across such people, give them no time or opportunity. God is the source of our joy and we must spend our energies focused on Him alone! - Ron Lambros, President, Touching Lives
Honor the Lord
Every day you need to declare favor, not only so that you can hear it or God can hear it. You need to say it so the enemy can hear it.
You may be in a valley of sickness or disappointment right now, but don’t get discouraged. Take heart. It’s only temporary. It’s about to turn into a valley of renewed strength—a valley of restoration.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Yet
Here are 3 things we can ask ourselves when faced with disappointment:
1. What do I need to learn? Maybe God has an appointment for me in the midst of this disappointment. If God wants me to see, learn, know, or grow in some way while I work through this unmet expectation, I have to be open to hear this from Him.
2. Could it be that I’m so concerned with what I don’t have, I’ve forgotten to be thankful for what I do have? Sometimes, it’s not that my reality is bad. It’s that I created too much space for disappointment to grow by placing my expectations too high.
3. Is there something I can do to change this situation? If so, I need to ask God for the courage to make changes. If I keep hoping things will get better but don’t make any adjustments, that’s foolish. The space between my reality and my expectations will only change if I do.
- Lysa TerKeurst
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