Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 14, 2017
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you. Joel 2:25
God can make up for wasted time. He specializes in redeeming rough seasons in our lives. What has become a torturous transition, He can use to love you into a closer relationship with Him. Where else can you go for eternal life than to the one who is eternal (John 6:68)? Allow God to backfill this blot on your past. He can rebuild what has been broken, and even destroyed.
You may have been embarrassed and humiliated, but this is not beyond God’s long arm of restoration. Injustice may have invaded your unsuspecting life. Unaware and unexpected, you lost everything you had spent a lifetime building. Poof, in a twinkle of an eye, it was gone. Your career was gone. Your family teetered on division. Your reputation was tattered and all but obliterated. Your joy was gone, your finances depleted, your energy sapped. And your faith was shot full of holes. Your desire to move forward in life was severely stalled.
Worst of all, you wondered where the Lord was in all this reversal of fortune. You were on the fast track to bitterness because of your feelings of betrayal. You may have hit rock bottom, and now there is nowhere to look but up. Look up to Jesus. He is your hope, your rock, and your refuge. Look up to the Lord, even though He may seem a million miles away. Now is the time to practice what you told others all those years. Trust God during this time of turmoil. God wants to backfill your loss. He can fill your pit of pity with hope (Psalm 40:2). Your broken relationships that are buried in a cistern of hurt, He can retrieve with forgiveness. Into your financial black hole, He can shine the light of His provision and opportunity.
In Christ, your best days lie ahead. Submit to His healing. Let go of your hurt and pride, and hang on to Him. He is the best thing you have going for you. Let these failures forge a stronger faith in you and in your family. Face the fact that you are forgiven, and move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lean on the Lord. He can handle it. He is your stability in this storm of insanity. God is there for you to rebuild your reputation, and to give you daily doses of hope and encouragement. Your eruption of raw emotion will grow you into a more sensitive and compassionate follower of Christ.
He has brought you through this crisis of faith to allow you to coach others through the same. You are a living and breathing testimony of the grace and love of God. Project His faithfulness on other fledgling followers of Jesus. Let the Lord backfill the hole in your heart and life with His love and faithfulness. His filling of right attitudes and actions will bar the door of your mind from bitterness and backstabbing. Invite the Holy Spirit to backfill your soul with His fruit of love, joy, peace, self-control, purity, forgiveness, and humility. What God fills proves faithful. What God fills, He controls and comforts. Use the lessons of the past as a reminder for the Holy Spirit’s filling in the present. His backfilling results in faithfulness going forward.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your grace that fills the gaps my sin has created.Application
What past sin do I need to let go of and trust the Lord to heal and mend relationships in His timing.Related Reading
Today’s reading is taken from Boyd’s most popular book: Seeking Daily the Heart of God, a 365 day devotional.Post/Tweet today
God can make up for wasted time. He specializes in redeeming rough seasons in our lives. #wisdomhunters #GodbackfillsWorship Resource
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Boyd, thank you for this specific devotional. It could not have been more timely in my life! Just as I was sinking into an abyss you threw me this lifeline, and reminded me of this verse that was my lifeline in my past.
Thank you for faithfully and thoughtfully penning these cherished words.
Dear Katherine,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to Boyd and let him know how the devotional “spoke” to your heart. Please know that I forwarded your comments to him and I am sure he will be blessed by your kind words. We are grateful for God’s Perfect Timing. It never ceases to amaze me how HE puts the words or the people in front of us at just the right time – HIS time!.
We are so thankful for you, Katherine, and look forward to hearing from you again.
May God bless you in this new year.
Grateful~
Gwynne
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
Psalm 107:1