March 15 ~ Job 2:1-5
One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan, saying, “And what have you been up to?” Satan answered God, “Oh, going here and there, checking things out.” Then God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him, is there—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn’t work.”
Satan answered, “A human would do anything to save his life. But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He’d curse you to your face, that’s what.”
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
When I was teaching kindergarten, one of my five-year-olds fell out in the hallway as our “lunch line” of students snaked its way to the cafeteria one morning. A severe diabetic, this child’s sugar level plummeted, and she collapsed. I heard the loud clank of her metal lunchbox, looked back, and saw her limp body… and I knew she was in trouble. I rushed her to the nearby nurse’s station, and we called an ambulance. Several suggested we give her something to eat or drink, but I was afraid she would choke. Her mother had said, “If anything happens, call an ambulance.” So that’s what we did. I rode with the child to medical clinic where her pediatrician practiced… located across town. There, she was given saltine crackers and a Coke. The sugar level rose, and thankfully, all was well. After that, we began checking her urine each day before lunch to make sure her sugar levels were within acceptable range.
After this episode, my then-assistant principal drove to the clinic to retrieve me. We were both shaken by the incident, and as she drove away from the clinic, she said, “What do you need, besides a good stiff drink?” We both laughed. But for many, this… or a cigarette…a pint of rich delicious ice cream… an extravagant shopping spree…a wild, reckless drive in a motorized vehicle of some sort…or some other “balm” would be the answer. See, when the going gets tough, a lot of us fold up or surrender to temptation. We find solace in things like food, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, overspending, and irresponsible behaviors. After all, we deserve to be a little crazy for all of our trouble… right?
When trouble comes… when tragedy strikes… when “bad things happen to good people,” the devil takes great delight in the fact that a lot of us turn from God – or at least turn toward the things that displease Him. Unlike Job, we turn away from the God who has supplied all of our needs and claim that “we’re entitled to go a little crazy.” Integrity, schmegrity! It’s time for us to have a pity party and/or get a little wild! We’ve had a lot of hardship in our life… we deserve to shirk our responsibilities for a change. Things have not gone well for us in any way/shape/form… it’s time we spat on the world! And this is exactly what many of us do.
We blame our illness, our employer, our teachers and coaches – or our parents – our church our past disappointments, or our childhood for all of the things that have happened to us. And we essentially say to God…”You let these things happen to us, and we’re not going to tolerate it!” In truth, all we are doing is saying, “I’d rather dance with the devil than trust God to help me through whatever struggles and challenges I’m facing.” It’s not easy to “keep your cool.” And often, doing the right thing is the hardest choice in the world. But I believe many of us know what we choices we should make… we just choose poorly.
So my challenge to each of us today is to take courage… to stay faithful… and to kick the devil to the curb. No matter what comes your way, say, “I’m not budging. God will see me through. It may be messy – even ugly at times – but He will never desert me.” I promise, you cannot say the same for the devil… a stiff drink, that shopping spree, or even a pint of ice cream (although it may stick around a little longer than you’d like!). The one constant… the only sure thing… is God Almighty. Stick with Him…choose to keep your integrity and behave in a way that pleases God. Live with the confidence that He is in charge and will never give you more than you can handle. Tell the devil to “Bring it! I’m serving a God who is big enough to help me handle all that you’ve got!” Then claim this for yourself… take it to heart…and make it so.
Never give up – or in – to the devil. Stick with God, preserve your integrity, and steer clear of any potential for destruction.
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label do the right thing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label do the right thing. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for December 6, 2012
December 6 ~ Psalm 1:1-6
God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, the Law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do.
That isn’t true of those who are evil, because they are like straw blown by the wind. Sinners won’t have an excuse on the day of judgment, and they won’t have a place with the people of God.
The Lord protects everyone who follows him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A friend of mine purchased a personalized item for Christmas, and when she went to pick it up, the business had misspelled one of the names on the item. Of course, my friend was disappointed. She had paid a lot of money for this item, and the name of one of her children was spelled incorrectly. The store owner offered my friend a $10 coupon good on her next purchase as compensation. Afraid she might say something ugly, my friend left quickly. However, she voiced her frustration on Facebook, and her friends responded in large numbers with all sorts of advice. More importantly, many asked for the name of the business so that they could avoid patronizing that particular store.
In fairness, the store owner thought better of her offer and called later to say she would replace the tray with a new one – spelled correctly. So in the end, she did the right thing. To have done otherwise would have been incredibly damaging to her business, because word of things like this travels quickly. But she probably still did major harm to her business by the initial response. And it does make one stop and wonder… “Why was there any hesitation?” In business, the motto that “The customer is always right” should have applied here… and that store owner should have immediately offered to replace the item.
This is sort of a loose illustration of how we don’t always do what is right… with regrettable consequences. It is important that we stay awake and alert… on our toes… and that doing the right thing becomes our second nature. I don’t know if this person was momentarily caught off guard and became defensive… or if she was thinking selfishly and decided that she was not going to “eat” her profit… or if her bottom line was so tight that she simply felt like she could not afford to forfeit this sale. But I do know that sometimes, doing the right thing seems expensive on the surface. Let me assure you, it’s always worth any perceived trouble.
There will be people who will lie, cheat, and steal… and appear to get ahead by doing so. But someday, the jig will be up! They will have to answer... if not to other mere mortals… to God Almighty. Everyone who has stepped on the backs of others to become “successful”… those who have been abusive and unkind – or just downright deceptive - will have to answer for their insults and indiscretions. And God will not be lenient!
It’s frustrating to see others operate in dishonesty and deception… and to watch them seem to breeze by doing so. It’s hard to feel like you did the right thing… gave your very best… and you were slapped down and penalized for it. But I can assure you, God will bless your efforts. It may take a long time… or seem like it’s taking forever… but He will do this. God measures success by a far different ruler… and His is the only one that matters.
Do the right thing. Avoid evil, deception, lying, cheating and stealing. Any “quick-fix” or shortcut that involves these behaviors will never be worth it in the end. Plant your roots firmly in the promises of God… trust Him to make things right on your behalf… and delight in pleasing Him. The goal is to hear God say, “Well done!” What will He say to you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, the Law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do.
That isn’t true of those who are evil, because they are like straw blown by the wind. Sinners won’t have an excuse on the day of judgment, and they won’t have a place with the people of God.
The Lord protects everyone who follows him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A friend of mine purchased a personalized item for Christmas, and when she went to pick it up, the business had misspelled one of the names on the item. Of course, my friend was disappointed. She had paid a lot of money for this item, and the name of one of her children was spelled incorrectly. The store owner offered my friend a $10 coupon good on her next purchase as compensation. Afraid she might say something ugly, my friend left quickly. However, she voiced her frustration on Facebook, and her friends responded in large numbers with all sorts of advice. More importantly, many asked for the name of the business so that they could avoid patronizing that particular store.
In fairness, the store owner thought better of her offer and called later to say she would replace the tray with a new one – spelled correctly. So in the end, she did the right thing. To have done otherwise would have been incredibly damaging to her business, because word of things like this travels quickly. But she probably still did major harm to her business by the initial response. And it does make one stop and wonder… “Why was there any hesitation?” In business, the motto that “The customer is always right” should have applied here… and that store owner should have immediately offered to replace the item.
This is sort of a loose illustration of how we don’t always do what is right… with regrettable consequences. It is important that we stay awake and alert… on our toes… and that doing the right thing becomes our second nature. I don’t know if this person was momentarily caught off guard and became defensive… or if she was thinking selfishly and decided that she was not going to “eat” her profit… or if her bottom line was so tight that she simply felt like she could not afford to forfeit this sale. But I do know that sometimes, doing the right thing seems expensive on the surface. Let me assure you, it’s always worth any perceived trouble.
There will be people who will lie, cheat, and steal… and appear to get ahead by doing so. But someday, the jig will be up! They will have to answer... if not to other mere mortals… to God Almighty. Everyone who has stepped on the backs of others to become “successful”… those who have been abusive and unkind – or just downright deceptive - will have to answer for their insults and indiscretions. And God will not be lenient!
It’s frustrating to see others operate in dishonesty and deception… and to watch them seem to breeze by doing so. It’s hard to feel like you did the right thing… gave your very best… and you were slapped down and penalized for it. But I can assure you, God will bless your efforts. It may take a long time… or seem like it’s taking forever… but He will do this. God measures success by a far different ruler… and His is the only one that matters.
Do the right thing. Avoid evil, deception, lying, cheating and stealing. Any “quick-fix” or shortcut that involves these behaviors will never be worth it in the end. Plant your roots firmly in the promises of God… trust Him to make things right on your behalf… and delight in pleasing Him. The goal is to hear God say, “Well done!” What will He say to you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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