One evening when my son John came home from football practice, I noticed that his arms and hands had an unusual number of cuts and bruises on them. “What happened?” I asked.

“Have you ever noticed, Dad,” he replied, “that pain is optional, but suffering isn’t? I wanted to be on the starting team, so I knew it would take some ‘pain’ on my part. I’d been ‘playing,’ and now I wanted the coach to know I could be a ‘winner’ at football.”

The Psalmist reminded us that Joseph was sold as a slave, and that “They bruised his feet with shackles and that his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.” 

Tucked away in the great plan that God has for each of us is our fair share of suffering. After Joseph was sold into slavery, he did not complain about his situation. He persevered through the horrible conditions that were placed on him. By honoring and trusting God, the King of all kings honored him.  

When he was tempted by King Potiphar’s wife, he resisted her seductive behaviors. She did everything she could do to seduce him, but through his dependence on God, he did not give in to his passions. And, when she grabbed him physically, he was able to escape through God’s strength. When she lied about him, he was thrown into prison. And, rather than becoming bitter, he became better. Because he was true to God, he triumphed and eventually became the premier of Egypt. His path to power was through suffering, pain, and imprisonment. If we are true to God in our times of trial, we will be triumphant. 

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for carrying us through. Help us to be faithful to You, in all things at all times. May we understand and know that temptation and suffering, are part of Your plan for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:  They bruised his feet with shackles and that his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. Psalm 105:18-19

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One evening when my son John came home from football practice, I noticed that his arms and hands had an unusual number of cuts and bruises on them. “What happened?” I asked.

“Have you ever noticed, Dad,” he replied, “that pain is optional, but suffering isn’t? I wanted to be on the starting team, so I knew it would take some ‘pain’ on my part. I’d been ‘playing,’ and now I wanted the coach to know I could be a ‘winner’ at football.”

The Psalmist reminded us that Joseph was sold as a slave, and that “They bruised his feet with shackles and that his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.” 

Tucked away in the great plan that God has for each of us is our fair share of suffering. After Joseph was sold into slavery, he did not complain about his situation. He persevered through the horrible conditions that were placed on him. By honoring and trusting God, the King of all kings honored him.  

When he was tempted by King Potiphar’s wife, he resisted her seductive behaviors. She did everything she could do to seduce him, but through his dependence on God, he did not give in to his passions. And, when she grabbed him physically, he was able to escape through God’s strength. When she lied about him, he was thrown into prison. And, rather than becoming bitter, he became better. Because he was true to God, he triumphed and eventually became the premier of Egypt. His path to power was through suffering, pain, and imprisonment. If we are true to God in our times of trial, we will be triumphant. 

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for carrying us through. Help us to be faithful to You, in all things at all times. May we understand and know that temptation and suffering, are part of Your plan for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:  They bruised his feet with shackles and that his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. Psalm 105:18-19

Please leave a comment and tell us how you were helped by today's devotional!

A fierce tornado destroyed his home. Finally, when the rains stopped and floods subsided, he returned to look at the damage. All had been destroyed. His home was gone. His belongings had been washed away. There was little more than the foundation and piles of rubble.

But as he stood at the site, dazed and discouraged, he noticed something shining in the midst of a pile of debris. As he looked closely at the glimmering object, he discovered it was a large piece of gold bullion. He did his best to find the owner but to no avail. No one knew where the gold came from or who it belonged to.

After waiting for weeks for an owner to come identify the gold he was told by his attorney and the police department to keep what he had found. What the flood destroyed and took from him also brought him wealth.

Many of us have stories that are similar to this one. What we once viewed as a tragedy turned into a triumph. What we once believed was a trial and time of testing eventually turned into a gracious gift of God’s grace as He protected us from being destroyed by the Enemy.

Beethoven, the great musician lost his hearing but became a great composer and his music still lives. John Bunyan was thrown into prison and forgotten for years. But through his adversity he glorified God by writing Pilgrim’s Progress. Fanny Crosby lost her sight but wrote over 6,000 Christian songs.

“We went through fire and water,” wrote the Psalmist, “but you brought us to a place of abundance!”

Prayer: Enable us, Father, to trust in the wisdom of the plan You have designed for each of our lives as we follow You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 66:12 You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

When he was fifteen years old, he tried to catch a ride on a heavily loaded truck. He was unable to pull himself onto the moving truck and fell beneath the wheels. His left leg was badly crushed and the surgeon decided to cut it off, but he begged them not to remove it.

They eventually agreed with him and were very successful in the surgery and treatment that followed. However, they said to him, “Harold, Your leg has been too badly damaged. You will never play football again..”

“Yes I will!” he protested. After his release from the hospital, he faithfully exercised every day. Not only did he return to play high school football, he set records in high school as the nation’s highest scorer. He then went on to set many college and professional football records. To this day Harold “Red” Grange, the “Galloping Ghost,” is recognized as one of the nation’s greatest athletes. Some sports writers have said that he is the definition of football and no one will ever again do what he did with a football.

Imagine with me, what you or I could do for Christ if we had his dedication and determination.

Prayer: Father, help us to be willing to make every and any sacrifice necessary to serve You faithfully with all of our hearts and souls. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Scripture for Today: Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

James Whitaker was the first American to conquer Mount Everest. A reporter asked him, “Why did you risk your life in such an endeavor?”

“Because,” he said, “of the challenge. I wanted to see if I could stand on the top. You don’t conquer the mountain. You conquer yourself. You overcome your sickness, your pains, your fears to reach the summit. Man needs challenges.”

Life is full of challenges. Some we create to develop our strength or potential. Others come at us as a complete surprise with no warning in advance or means of escape. Many are short term while others may last a lifetime. While we can overcome most of them, there are some that overcome us.

There are times when God uses certain negative situations in our lives to prepare us for tasks that are in our future. There are times when He knows that we need to increase our faith and trust in His grace and mercy. And there are times when we face hardships because of our poor choices or not following His will for our lives.

The Bible tells us that we will encounter many trials in this life. But it also promises us that God will be with us, and that His presence, love, comfort and strength are ours for the asking.

Prayer: Father, when we go through the difficulties of life we ask for Your hand and the assurance of Your presence. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Scripture for Today: Hebrews 12:1-2

George Mallory, a famous mountaineer and explorer from England, led two expeditions to conquer Mount Everest. Both times he failed to conquer the mountain. He was so intense that he enlisted another expedition to make a third attempt to get to the top.

He studied his past efforts thoroughly and made extensive preparations, carefully planning every detail. This time, however, before he reached the top, an avalanche struck, killing him and most of his men.

One of the survivors was determined to honor Mallory. Looking at a picture of Mount Everest, he cried with tears in his eyes, "We shall defeat you some day because you can't get any bigger and we can."

When we feel defeated or destroyed by the tragedies of life, the most important thing we can ever do is to take God at His word. With Paul we can proclaim, "I can do all things through Christ!"

Prayer: Lord, may we seek strength from You, to meet and overcome every challenge we face. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture: Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

During the Revolutionary War, “Molly Pitcher” joined her husband in the conflict. While he was fighting in the battle, she carried water to the soldiers.

One day, as the war raged, her husband was shot and killed. Immediately she dropped her pitcher, took his place at the cannon and helped win a victory.

Death and sorrow are two of the great common denominators in everyone’s life. No one is immune from loss and grief that comes with feeling alone. Throughout all of life, everyone encounters feelings of emptiness when we lose a loved one. God’s Word reminds us that we all experience these times of tragedy.

As Christians we have a source of strength that we can call upon when needed. Paul declares, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” We all know of the sorrows and setbacks that he had. But he rose above his adversities by the grace and strength of God and turned his troubles into triumphs.

At the end of every day Paul was able to say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

Prayer: Grant us, Father, the assurance of Your peace and presence, comfort and confidence, when we are going through difficult times. May we trust in Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us: in Your name. Amen.


Scripture for Today: Romans 8:32-39

Read James 4:7

In the War of 1812, an American general, William Winder, in spite of having a four-to-one advantage over the British, was defeated and taken prisoner.

“Free him,” said the British officer. “His incompetence makes him an ideal opponent.”

Later, when the British attacked our nation’s capitol and burned much of it, Winder was in charge.

Anything in your life that’s not consecrated to the Lord is claimed by the devil. He delights in having you in charge of the Lord’s work. He knows he will win the battle.

Just now submit your all to the Lord, and resist the Devil. Then he’ll run from you, not over you.
Prayer: We submit ourselves to Thee, Father. In all our thinking and doing may Thy word instruct us, Thy love motivate us, Thy strength sustain us and Thy spirit guide us: through Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.