Friday, February 13, 2009

I feel like I'm cheating because I've been copying devotions and pasting them here, but...why reinvent the wheel! Here's today's devotion from Turning Point. I love it. We need to make our decision BEFORE the trial to trust God completely. It is too hard to do it once we are already in the fire.

God Our Deliverer
He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. Job 5:19

When Daniel’s three friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—stood before the opening to a blazing furnace in Babylon, they had one of the most remarkable perspectives found in the pages of world history: “It doesn’t matter if we are thrown into the furnace or not. If God chooses to deliver us, fine. If not, fine. Either way our trust is in Him.”

How often do we face life’s threatening moments with that kind of faithful resolve? It may not be life-or-death persecution for our faith that we face, but we may face a life-or-death situation of another kind: illness, divorce, unemployment, estrangement, or an unspeakable tragedy. But not everyone is delivered as Daniel’s three friends were, so how do we interpret the scriptural promises of protection in light of actual outcomes? Here’s how: we make up our minds about God at the door of the furnace, not once we’re inside. As a result, we are prepared for any outcome. If we are delivered on earth, fine; if we are delivered to heaven, also fine. We let God be in charge of seeing us through our fiery furnaces.

God is our Deliverer (Psalm 18:2), regardless of how, when, and where the deliverance occurs.

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