I tried to prepare ahead of time, but it just wasn’t coming
together. My boss had asked me to share a devotional with our staff that
morning and here I was sitting at my desk 10 minutes before our meeting with
nothing to share. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about it. Many ideas had
floated in and out of my brain in the past 24 hours, but nothing seemed to
stick.
And then I saw it. Of all things, it was a mug I had
received from the fireman who had just visited our program to talk to the kids
about fire safety. It had railroad tracks on it along with the phrases “Always
expect a train” and “Any time is train time.” That was it. This was the message
God had for me to share.
I headed upstairs with my new mug in hand. When it was my
turn to share I held up the mug and announced… “Always expect a trial. Any time
is trial time.” I used John 16:33 to share the good news, bad news message with
the women. In a nutshell, I reminded everyone that we live in a fallen and
sinful world, so trials in our lives are guaranteed. The good news… we can
count on the One who has overcome the world. In the meantime, we need to
prepare. It is crucial that we are spending time in God’s Word and in prayer.
We need to be ready because… “any time is trial time.”
In this world
you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33