Monday 17 Aug 2009

Monday Reading: Habakkuk 3:16-19
 
Key Verse: Habakkuk 3:18
18  yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
 
Devotion:
When we see troubled times approaching or cannot see a way out, we feel weak and even tremble at the thought of what lies ahead. Our bones begin to feel like they are not strong enough to cope with what they normally can; our bodies feel like they have been drained of strength and quite often our heads feel like they have been drained of blood. This is just what the thought of bad things can do to us... Stress and worry in our lives can cause us to lose our way and to head into darkness because we think we can hide in the darkness rather than having to face up to our enemies in the light.

When we look back on all that God has done for people throughout history we can see that depending on Him is a joyous and fulfilling thing. When people have been at their lowest, He has continued to support them. When people have been at their wits end, He has brought them through of their troubles. He has not always made their troubles disappear overnight or immediately but He has given them the strength to continue on in the face of adversity. Would you rather never have to face anything or face things knowing that you have the means of getting through everything?

I’m sure that we would all say that we would rather not have to face anything untoward, but living without having to face anything would make us weak and feeble. If we want to strengthen ourselves we have to do some form of exercise to make our bodies stronger; in a similar manner, if we want to strengthen our spirits or souls we have to go through spiritual exercises to ensure that we can face more in our lives. If we remain weak we may well give in to the first trouble or temptation that came our way. God wants us to be strong, knowing that we do have Him backing us up all the way!

Points to Ponder:
What exercise do you do?

Are you working for God?