Saturday, April 28, 2012

Alway Expect a Trial


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