A WORD FOR TODAY, June 5, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you are blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 5, 2026
“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.” Proverbs 16:6-11, WEB
Summer vacation has started for most children. The next three months or so will be filled with opportunities for those children to attend different types of summer schools or camps. Churches will hold Vacation Bible. Scouts will camp in diverse places like the mountains or beach. One boy I know is going to sleep on a decommissioned naval ship with his troop. Youth centers, libraries, and other places are planning theme camps to teach everything from science to cooking to sports to music. Our church school has planned four different camps, including a week filled with field trips to fun places. Many camps provide day care for children of working parents.
While there are some camps devoted specifically for art, most offer arts and crafts. The crafts are related to whatever story or lesson of the day. We made butterflies at one VBS as a project to enhance a lesson about new birth. Some projects are very simple; others are more complicated. The planners need to design these projects to meet the needs and abilities of different age levels, since most of these camps invite children from preschool through elementary school. The craft time is also limited, so the planners need to make it easy for all the children to finish. This means many of the materials are prepared ahead of time. Even with all this preparation, every child’s project is unique.
I never really understood the phrase “you have your work cut out for you.” This usually means that the task that lies ahead is a difficult one. Yet, when you think of it in terms of Kindergarten craft projects, you’ll see that it is good to have the work ‘cut out for you’. The teacher does the cutting to make it easier for the students. Though the work might be hard, it makes it easier for the teacher in the long run. Some children are not able to cut very well, or might cut something improperly, ruining the project. There is always one or two children that go overboard with their creativity, using more materials or time than are available. By preparing the materials, a teacher limits the actions of the child for the sake of the whole group.
The Lord is much like a camp leader. He has prepared our way. We have our work cut out for us, by our Father who knows what is best for us and for all the world. Yet, if we look at that phrase as it is used, God has His work cut out for Him. We seem to make it difficult, making our own plans, choosing our own course. Yet, just like when a youngster decides to do whatever they want in arts and crafts time, we soon discover that our own choices are not always the best. Time is lost and we make mistakes that ruin the project. Our improper use of the materials ruins the experience for others because there is nothing left for them to use.
The words from the psalmist for today seem like foolishness to the world. We want control of our lives; we want to be able to do things for ourselves. Individuality is the ideal, each person doing whatever they feel is best. However, this attitude is selfish and leads to selfish behavior. It is good to know that our children are given the opportunities to share their gifts and abilities in an environment where every child is given the care they need.
God has created us as individuals but has given us life within a community of people. He has laid a good path for us, “cut our work out for us” so that we don’t have to try to do something we are not able to do. We can’t save ourselves, on Jesus can do so. It is up to us to follow and obey Him. We make things difficult by trying to do things our own way, planning our own course. However, God is still in control. He cuts out our work for us, directing our steps for the benefit of the whole. We can rest in this knowledge, knowing that God has carefully planned our life in this world and will help us through.
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