August 17: Are You Discouraged in Devotion?
What a timely lesson for me! (Kevin, since you are CHAMBERless, I will recap. The scripture is from Luke 18:22 about the rich young ruler who heard a command from Jesus that he thought was too difficult, so he did not follow Him. When Jesus tells us something it will almost always seem harsh and hard, but He will not compelled us to obey. He gives us the choice to either do what He asks or walk away. However, if we walk away, we will be discouraged and away from His presence, which is ultimately the hardest thing of all!)
Right now I am substitute teaching for three weeks in a Special Ed classroom and have two young men who the school is trying to get sent to Carroll Academy (reform school.) They are explosive and angry and disrupt the whole class. Every morning I get up and start my prayers in the most negative way..."Lord, I don't know how I'm going to have the strength to go this whole time....(whine, whine, whine)."
Yet I have heard the harsh word of the Lord -- "Love those boys as I would love them." It is hard and tiring, but He does empower one to do what He commands. About five minutes before the bell rang yesterday, the one girl in the class looked at me like I was a creature from another planet and said, "I've never seen a grown-up take all the crap that you have taken without loosing it." I felt so humbled at that moment, because I knew that somehow I'd been given a supernatural love and patience for those boys that could not have come from my sickly, grumbling, natural self.
John 18:27 says it all, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
Jesus, help us to bravely step out to obey the tasks that You ask us to do. I pray for my dearly loved children of my heart to put their whole trust in You whether they must face deadlines, unreasonable professors, taunting peers, personal temptations, back-breaking fatigue, or any other difficult task. Let us be sensitive to your voice, even if Your word is hard, for by obeying we will be privileged to be up close and personal to see You work miracles!!!
Right now I am substitute teaching for three weeks in a Special Ed classroom and have two young men who the school is trying to get sent to Carroll Academy (reform school.) They are explosive and angry and disrupt the whole class. Every morning I get up and start my prayers in the most negative way..."Lord, I don't know how I'm going to have the strength to go this whole time....(whine, whine, whine)."
Yet I have heard the harsh word of the Lord -- "Love those boys as I would love them." It is hard and tiring, but He does empower one to do what He commands. About five minutes before the bell rang yesterday, the one girl in the class looked at me like I was a creature from another planet and said, "I've never seen a grown-up take all the crap that you have taken without loosing it." I felt so humbled at that moment, because I knew that somehow I'd been given a supernatural love and patience for those boys that could not have come from my sickly, grumbling, natural self.
John 18:27 says it all, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
Jesus, help us to bravely step out to obey the tasks that You ask us to do. I pray for my dearly loved children of my heart to put their whole trust in You whether they must face deadlines, unreasonable professors, taunting peers, personal temptations, back-breaking fatigue, or any other difficult task. Let us be sensitive to your voice, even if Your word is hard, for by obeying we will be privileged to be up close and personal to see You work miracles!!!
posted by Jane at 4:16 AM
1 Comments:
Thank you, Stacie! You are such an encourager!!
Last night at choir practice we started learning a new song. The first verse spoke about our inclination to make God too small and not trust Him for enough. I realized at that moment that my prayers for that Special Ed class had not been right. I have just been praying that the Lord would help me make it through the day and that He would give me love and patience. He has answered those prayers in an amazing way.
But what I should have been praying all along is that He would use me to change their lives. Everyone who knows them says that nothing will help, that they are bound for a life of crime and prison. No! Jesus is still the Lord of the impossible and I am terribly remiss if I don't pray that He will let them find Him so they can be wrenched free from the squallor they were born into.
Here I go donning my Ephesisians Chapter 6 "armor"......
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