Sunday Reading: Matthew 14:10-14
Key Verse: Matthew 14:14
14 And Jesus went out and saw a great crowd, and He was moved with compassion toward them. And He healed their sick.
Devotion:
What do you do when you hear of bad news? Do you like to go somewhere where you can be alone and spend some quiet time by yourself or do you like to be with friends and family for the comfort you can get? It is probably a difficult call for most because we do feel like we just want to get away from all of the strife and find a quiet moment to reflect on what has happened and yet we also crave the comfort we can get from people that we love.
When Jesus was told of the death of John the Baptist I am sure that it was no surprise to Him but He did elect to go somewhere deserted to have time alone. I am also pretty sure that He would not have chosen to have time alone by Himself but rather to have time speaking with God the Father. If there is one person that you should choose to be alone with it should be God because He is the only one who will truly understand what you are going through and He will be the one who can give you what you need at that moment in time.
God knew that what Jesus needed at that time was the opportunity to share His love with the many more people that were being left behind. Jesus knew that He would be able to see John in heaven pretty soon but all around Him were people that did not yet have that privilege. God knew that there was still work to be done and He knew that Jesus needed to share His love at that time – the perfect opportunity would be for Him to share that love by healing the needy people around Him. God provides the best opportunities at the best times! The only stumbling block is our faith in being able to trust that God will provide that opportunity when we need it... And that is what it is; faith in the unseen. Trust God because He can.
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust God?
Do you still trust God when things go wrong?
Key Verse: Matthew 14:14
14 And Jesus went out and saw a great crowd, and He was moved with compassion toward them. And He healed their sick.
Devotion:
What do you do when you hear of bad news? Do you like to go somewhere where you can be alone and spend some quiet time by yourself or do you like to be with friends and family for the comfort you can get? It is probably a difficult call for most because we do feel like we just want to get away from all of the strife and find a quiet moment to reflect on what has happened and yet we also crave the comfort we can get from people that we love.
When Jesus was told of the death of John the Baptist I am sure that it was no surprise to Him but He did elect to go somewhere deserted to have time alone. I am also pretty sure that He would not have chosen to have time alone by Himself but rather to have time speaking with God the Father. If there is one person that you should choose to be alone with it should be God because He is the only one who will truly understand what you are going through and He will be the one who can give you what you need at that moment in time.
God knew that what Jesus needed at that time was the opportunity to share His love with the many more people that were being left behind. Jesus knew that He would be able to see John in heaven pretty soon but all around Him were people that did not yet have that privilege. God knew that there was still work to be done and He knew that Jesus needed to share His love at that time – the perfect opportunity would be for Him to share that love by healing the needy people around Him. God provides the best opportunities at the best times! The only stumbling block is our faith in being able to trust that God will provide that opportunity when we need it... And that is what it is; faith in the unseen. Trust God because He can.
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust God?
Do you still trust God when things go wrong?