TRUST GOD AND GET GOING
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
Philippians 1:20 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
If you are in a prison asking for prayers, how would you ask believers to pray? I must admit that I would probably ask for deliverance from prison. Paul did not do this. Paul’s hope was, “that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ.”
A few years back I had the privilege to visit with a pastor from Iran. His stories of the struggles of believers in his home country were heart-breaking. When I asked how we could pray for them his response was like Paul, “pray that we will continue to be bold in our time of persecution.”
There was no cry for deliverance, freedom, or comfort. His cry was that the believers would remain bold in the face of persecution.
Theologian J. I. Packer said, “The Christian motto should not be ‘let go and let God’ but trust God and get going.”
Instead of throwing a pity party in our pain and suffering we must learn to trust God and do what we can where we are. Paul chose to write letters from prison that became a major part of our New Testament. I don’t believe Paul had this revelation that he was writing part of the Bible that would impact millions of people around the world for centuries to come.
Paul was just trusting God and doing what he could where he was. In the process his life experiences had a dramatic impact way beyond his earthly life.
Difficult times are going to come. Times when a doctor’s report is not good. Suddenly we are without a job. We get a call from the police about our child. There are unexpected repair bills that drain our checking account. A loved one takes sick and dies. The list could go on and on of the possibilities of difficulties that happen in life.
There will be moments when it seems easier to quit and give up. Those are the moments we trust God and get going. When we feel like staying in bed and covering our head, we trust God and get going. When we feel like running away and hiding, we trust God and get going. When we feel hopeless and no victory in sight, we trust God and get going.
We do what we can do and trust God for the rest. We can’t heal every sickness. We can’t replace every loss. We can’t solve every problem. But we trust God and do what we can do.
When we do what we can do God does what we can’t do. God can take letters written from prison and turn them into Holy Scripture that inspires and guides millions of people for hundreds of years. God can take our efforts and accomplish His kingdom work.
Don’t complain about what you can’t do, rejoice in what you can do. Trust God and get going!
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit today I hand to You that I can’t solve or fix. I specifically hand to You __________________. I trust this into Your hands. I ask You to show me what I can do. Empower me today to trust you and get going. Help me do today what I can.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
I choose to keep moving forward regardless of what happens to me.
Paul is one of my favorite people in the Bible . A complex , yet fruitful life he lived . It’s a calmness that existed over his spirit even in the worst situations. I’ve learned to trust God through it all even when one can’t understand.