Lent Devotion

Wednesday, March 23

Holding on Through the Storm

 

This past week as we looked at Paul’s final instructions to the church at Corinth in his first letter to them, we heard him challenge them to “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” Challenges like those are only necessary if you know significant challenges are coming.

 

I don’t know about you, but my prayer would be for God to take away the obstacles. My preference would be for Him to make my paths smooth and never have to face attacks and problems and difficulties. If it were up to me, I’d make seven figures watching sports for a living, which would let me do ministry as a volunteer; my house and car would never need repairs, and the blessings prayed for my meals would transform burgers into broccoli, chocolate into cauliflower, and Pepsi into water as soon as they hit my stomach.

 

I also wouldn’t have to read about wars in the news; or watch people I care about get sick or die. But while God CREATED the world perfect, He doesn’t make things perfect for us, now that we have to deal with a world corrupted by sin. And sometimes I’ve wondered why that is.

 

David Scherer writes, “I have begun to realize that the promise of God is presence, not perfection. The promise of God is to conquer death, not to eliminate it. It’s not to completely take away the struggle and suffering, but to redeem it. God is present whether we pray for God’s presence or not.”

 

And I think that’s true. If things were always perfect in my life, I dare say I wouldn’t seek His presence nearly as much. And neither would you. If you think differently, read through the history of Israel in the Old Testament. Over and over and over again, when their lives became easy, they turned away from God. And oftentimes it took having everything fall apart for them to wake up and turn back to Him.

 

And God knows that His presence in our life is far better for us than having perfect circumstances. He knows that redeeming the struggle and suffering is far better than removing it. Because it’s in those moments when we look to build our relationship with Him, and we build something that will last for eternity.

 

And not only does having to deal with these things encourage our seeking the presence of God in our life in a greater way, but it also provides inspiration for others. I mean, who’s ever been inspired by a story of someone who had all of the talent and all of the breaks and no problems, as he or she accomplished something? Nobody. What inspires us is the person who came from nothing, faced obstacle after obstacle, against overwhelming odds, looked to God for strength, and with His blessing accomplished something great. That’s the kind of story that inspires us and makes us better.

 

As we spend our quiet time with God today, let’s pray that in the difficulties we’ll face in life, that we would always seek His presence and His strength, and thank Him for the fact that He’s always there for us in everything we go through.