Daily Bread

A Joyful Pain

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

This week having eye surgery on Tuesday has been rough and unexpectedly painful in recovery. My greatest blessing has been my wife’s patient help and loving encouragement. No one else would have put up with me these last couple of days!

God’s challenge is for me has been to focus on the joy of my blessings. It is way too easy for ungratefulness and complaining to dominate until the pain of trials has gotten my attention.

God is so infinitely good and patient to help us. He allows our trials sometimes as a reminder that He alone is the source of our deepest needs.

Listening

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Pain is an effective teacher when it comes to listening. All the braggadocio kind of vanishes in the midst of the moment by moment struggle to get through. Know it all attitudes like mine evaporate and a longing for hearing wise counsel bursts up through the rock like soil of a proud heart.

My recent eye surgery and the terrible recovery period I have already begun remind me of the Apostle Paul’s blindness. Paul had proudly set off for Damascus with all of the answers and no questions at all. But his encounter on the road with Jesus left him in a state of helplessness. He learned he needed to listen and be willing to accept counsel from whoever God chose to send.

How good it is of our Lord to share with us in His fellowship of suffering. We draw nearer to His bleeding side and become ready to listen to anyone he sends with wise counsel.

Living Connection

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Our real connection to Jesus Christ must always lead to our true connection to one another. Division points to a brokenness in some aspect of our relationship with God.

Division in our hearts or in our relationships is a signpost pointing to a break in our connection to our Heavenly Father. But He is always standing by with His door open for our return and ready to receive us into His presence. We must be prepared then to leave our own doors open for restored relationships to those around us. An open door means no demands or expectations but rather a reflection of the grace by which Jesus Himself has accepted us.