Daily Devotional for January 4, 2012

Genesis 22:1-3
Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him.

Abraham answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said, “Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.” So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I was watching a story on television this week about a woman who is in prison… convicted of negligent homicide in the death of a foster child who was in her care. While a judge and jury found ample evidence to place her there, many insist she was a victim of circumstances. The woman is the biological mother of more than one child… and a former missionary who worked with special needs children. She stated in an interview for this story …“I always said, ‘LORD, I’ll go anywhere you send me.’ I just didn’t know He would send me to prison.”

I have no idea if the LORD sent this woman to prison… she may use this thought as a coping mechanism – and these words as a ploy to try to convince others of her innocence. But her comment did cause me to stop and think… “Where is God sending me?” Has it ever occurred to any of us that the little bumps in the road… or even the BIGGER ones… might be God calling us to do something difficult – testing how deeply we rely on Him for strength? When we have our life all mapped out, and we get thrown a curve ball… do we see it as an inconvenience - or an opportunity?

How profoundly would our lives change if instead of asking, “Why me, LORD?” we said, “Here I am!” – and meant it? What if we shifted our thinking to look at tests of our strength as chances to demonstrate God’s power and presence in our life? Isn’t this at least worth a try? Where is God sending you today… and how are you reacting?

©2013 Debbie Robus

No comments: