Devotional For The Week Of 2/12/18- Not Your Final Destination
(Psalm 112:7- He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him.)
Where you are now doesn't have to be your final destination. I've hit many bumps in this road called life, some of them left me defeated, but each time I got back up. If you're constantly dwelling on all the mistakes you've made, the losses you've took and the bad things that have happened to you, you'll never be happy. I used to hate when things didn't go my way, it would make me upset and stressed. Now I just give all my problems to God, why be stressed out when I don't have to be? (Psalm 55:22- Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.) God never told us the road would be easy, but He didn't bring us this far to leave us.
Trials vs. Punishment for sin
I wanna clear this up because a lot of Christians confuse the two, there is a difference between sin causing bad things to happen in your life and going through a trial. Many times when Christians go through trials they say "I can't believe God is doing this to me, what did I do to deserve this?" Whenever something bad happens in our lives, we immediately feel like we're being punished, but that's not always the case. Sometimes God allows things to happen to us in order for us to realize how much we need Him and continue to mold us in His image. Trials = character transformation. Every trial we go through is supposed to teach us a lesson. Instead of asking "why is this happening to me?" Ask yourself: What is God trying to teach me from this? Sin on the other hand, gives the enemy access to our lives and he uses that to attack us. (Genesis 4:6-7- “Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage? It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it!”) David's sin caused many bad things to happen to him. (2 Samuel 12:10-12- Therefore murder shall be a constant threat in your family from this time on because you have insulted me by taking Uriah’s wife. I vow that because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will do this to you openly, in the sight of all Israel.’”) Even though Daniel was punished for his sin, he is still known as the man after God's own heart. He didn't allow what he was going through to defeat him, he kept on trusting in God.
One of my favorite scriptures is (Proverbs 31:25- She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can smile at the days to come.) That scripture has honestly changed my life, I used to smile but I never was actually happy, I didn't experience true happiness until I encountered God. That scripture reminds me that even if I'm going through one of the worst things in my life, I'll be able to smile again and this is not my final destination. "God did not bring you through the storm to just leave you standing in the puddle, but trust God—watch you come out of all of it."