A WORD FOR TODAY, March 14, 2023
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 14, 2023
“Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.” Hebrews 12:1-3, WEB
I was having a good day. I went to my favorite bakery to buy a pie for Pie Day (3-14). I was hoping they would have a chocolate cream pie, but they didn’t have one in the display. The girl asked the person in charge who told us that she had someone making one at that moment. “Go tell her we have a customer waiting for that pie!” I was going to settle for a frozen one if I had to, but I didn’t have to because my timing was just right. My trip to and from the bakery was pleasant because I hit mostly green lights and I was able to easily move into the right lanes. My favorite parking spot at the grocery store was open. I didn’t find everything I wanted, but did find what I needed and a few extra things I didn’t expect. All in all, it was a good day.
It was a good day until I broke my fingernail as I put my bags in the car. I was ready to let that one bad thing upset my mood. My morning before I left the house hadn’t been perfect, so I was a bit on the edge. My husband was having problems and needed my help, so I got out later than I’d hoped. It was dreary and cool outside. My car is filthy, but I don’t want to clean it right now because it is just going to get dirty again. The leaves are falling from the oak trees and the pollen is beginning to color everything yellowish green. We are expecting severe weather in a couple days. And the world seems to be going crazy all around us.
But was I really going to let a broken nail destroy the good mood that I was in despite all the reasons I should be grumpy? It might seem silly for us even to ask the question, but how many times do we allow some little thing to control our moods? We certainly allow the big things to control our moods.
We were talking about the fruit of the Spirit the other day in Sunday school (Galatians 5:22-23) and someone asked, “How is faith in this list? Don’t we all have faith?” Yes, we all have faith, but there are some people who have an extraordinary faith. These are the people we know who rejoice in life no matter what happens. They see God’s grace even in the difficult times. They praise God even when things go wrong. It is hard to grumble and be upset if we approach life through faith. We wonder about those with extraordinary faith because it seems so unreal. They don’t allow things like broken fingernails, or worse!, to ruin their days. I have a friend who has suffered some extreme losses recently, and despite the tragedy and her grief, she still praises God for His grace.
Bad moods make us tired; they make us feel hopeless, they cause us to turn from God as we wallow in self-pit. Though we may not have been gifted with the gift of extraordinary faith, we should be rejoicing even in our struggles because of what God has done for us. Jesus went to the cross without grumbling; He rejoiced in His obedience to God’s will. We may think we have reason to be in a bad mood, but there are so many reasons for us to see every day as a good day, even when bad things happen. We share in everything of Jesus, even the joy He had as He endured the worst thing we can imagine.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org