Daily Devotional for Sunday January 12, 2014
The Unexpected Surprises of Life
(Psalms 66:10; Isaiah 48:10; 1 Peter 1:7 )
***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, what exactly is required to surrender 100% to Christ and live by faith?
ANSWER: Die to self daily. That is done by waking up praying, getting in the Word first thing, and staying "plugged in" to God throughout the day. During the day, make decisions pleasing and acceptable to God. Don't forget for one minute you are HIS ambassador. Find ways to serve Him. Trust Him with the problems you encounter throughout the day. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, you learn to die to self daily and live for Him instinctively.
One of the things that you can count on as you live your life are the unexpected surprises that will come your way from time to time. We all do our best to try and control what is happening in our life, but there will always be things happening to us we simply have no control over. It is at those times in life that our faith must become real and sustain us no matter what the challenge may be.
Nobody who is reading these words today is immune from the unexpected surprises of life. Waking up and finding your pet has run away, going out to play and getting injured, having a doctor tell you that you have a disease, coming home and finding your spouse has left, getting a call from the bank that a deposit bounced causing your checking account to be overdrawn, getting hurt by a close friend, being told your job has been eliminated, getting a phone call in the middle of the night that one of your parents has died, finding out your child is on drugs, getting rear-ended by a careless driver, being told your credit card was declined, and the list could go on and on of unexpected surprises great and small.
You see my friend, no matter how much control we THINK we have over our life, that is a myth because you cannot control how other people think or act. People make mistakes that can affect your life. People choose to live in rebellion to God and their rebellion can affect your life. The reason we can never have total control over our life is because we can never totally control the people that are part of our life each day. People will always fail us, people will always let us down, whether it is intentional or not.
That is why our faith is not in a man, but in THE man . . . Jesus! He is the only one that will never fail us, never let us down. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. It is during those difficult times in life, especially when we are faced with the unexpected, that we have to find our strength and hope in Him. You see, through Jesus, no matter what life may throw at us we can find the strength and hope each day to battle through the problems life may bring our way. THERE IS NO BATTLE YOU ARE FIGHTING TODAY THAT YOU CAN'T WIN WITH JESUS!!!
The key to victory is to not let the surprises of life distract you, cause you to lose focus from what God has called you to do with your life. Let me repeat this because this is a big one. Please, read these words over and over. THE KEY TO VICTORY IS TO NOT LET THE SURPRISES OF LIFE DISTRACT YOU, CAUSE YOU TO LOSE FOCUS FROM WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE!
Here is another one for you. Worrying about the things you have no control over will cause you to not take care of the things you do have control over. One more time. Worrying about the things you have no control over, will cause you to not take care of the things you do have control over.
I love you and care about you so much. On this journey called life we are always going to face unexpected surprises, things that come out of nowhere and all of a sudden become major issues in our life. Nobody who lives is free from the unexpected problems of life. The key is how we respond to those unexpected problems. We can ether let them weigh us down like an anchor at the bottom of the sea, or we can exercise our faith in Christ and be victorious over whatever unexpected problems may come our way.
I will be praying for you today. I know that many of you are dealing with circumstances in your life that popped up out of nowhere. I am praying that you will take your burden to the Lord and allow Him to help you find peace and joy today despite your circumstances. That peace and joy comes from knowing God is in control and that there is victory in Jesus. Don't let the distractions of life keep you from being faithful in doing what God has called you to do with your life. Give those things out of your control to the Lord, and focus on those things that are in your control. That is how you deal with whatever life throws at you.
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller