Todays Devotion from Lutheran Church Charities... A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 Nehemiah discovered that not everybody will be happy about your success. ‘Sanballat ...sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together”...But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner’ (Nehemiah 6:2-4). Note the words, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.’ That could be classified as an Academy Award-winning response to attack! Any time you stop the work God has given you to do and step down to the level of your critics, you’ve sent the devil a signal that his strategy is working. So you can expect more of the same. Think: if God can deliver you in times of trouble, surely He can defend you in times of misunderstanding. So get back up on the wall He has called you to build and keep working. Don’t get distracted. There are three kinds of people you will meet in life: 1) The critic. They’re the first to point an accusing finger and the last to extend a helping hand. 2) The cautious. When you’re in trouble they’ll distance you lest they become tainted by your perceived liabilities. These people are not bad, they’re just self-serving. Don’t put your trust in them. 3) The committed. ‘A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’ Recognize such people and build your life around them, because they are a gift from God. Prayer Heavenly Father, help me keep the main thing the main thing – and you being the Main PERSON! In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:57:01 +0000