Not What I Expected

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/r5l3X12zWtE?si=qyFE0HZTBtdxmwHZ

“Not What I Expected”

John 14:1- NIV, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”

John 16:33- NIV, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Just recently when I was out on a run, I got to thinking about how it’s been 2 years since I started back up running again after not having run since I was in Jr. High.  In that time, I have learned a lot about running, especially from others who have been part of my encouraging running community.  The experience I’ve had getting back at it is not what I expected at all.  I really didn’t think I would stick with it and come to enjoy it again.  I thought I would drop off and give it up, but I haven’t and I’m glad I kept going.  It’s been a good learning experience with good days and bad days of running. 

 

I’ve learned to pace myself, push myself, control my breathing, and learn how I can improve on my timing and my distance.  The experience the past 2 years is not at all what I expected, but it’s been great.

 

As I consider my experience with running, I’m also looking at other areas of life where situations were not what I expected.

 

Life after college is not at all what I expected.  I studied to be in full time vocational ministry for years to come, but God obviously had other plans and I am happily serving in a volunteer capacity.

 

Life in marriage after 22 years is not what I expected.  Today, I am so very grateful for my relationship with my wife and all we have been through together.  As with any marriage, there’s been lots of ups and downs.  However, with God at the center, there has been nothing we can’t get through with Him leading us.

 

Being a parent is not what I expected.  It’s been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.  I have 2 daughters and I never would have imagined what it takes to raise kids.  God has been so good and I am very proud of them and their faith.

 

Jesus spent much time with His disciples trying to get them to understand what was going to happen and what would come upon them.  He tried so hard to simplify it, but there were so many times they just did not get it and could not comprehend what He was telling them.  It was emotionally painful for Him so often when He saw them bickering with each other and focusing on who is greatest among them.  He tried to warn them about what was to come for them and Himself, but they just couldn’t understand. 

 

Jesus knows that, so often, life is never truly what we expected.  We have our vision of what might come, but life rarely happens as we think it will.  This teaches us to trust Him in leading us when life doesn’t make sense and trusting that He knows what He’s doing as He leads us.  Let us continue to trust God, especially in times of life where things don’t make any sense and are totally different from what we expected.  

The Best Deal

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/HAtJKoYD0mQ?si=Q6Mee2-5XYiF9bAt

“The Best Deal”

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

Over the years, I have become someone who likes to search out good bargains.  I always like finding a good deal that saves me money.  If I need to buy something, of course I want to find the best value for my money.  One of the best sections of stores we like to shop is clearance.  My wife and I are signed up to a lot of food places and stores to get special deals.  We also like to comparison shop when we are in stores so that we know where to get the best deals.

 

I could go on and on about how I like to find good deals.  If I find a good deal, but then soon after realize that I could have gotten an ever better deal, I get bummed and wish I had looked further to get the better deal.  Often times, my wife will say, “It was only a few dollars difference”, but then I’ll say, “Yeah, but I could have saved more money!”  I am a bargain hunter!

 

I think we all like to find good deals and bargains when we are shopping for food, clothes, electronics, etc.  Who doesn’t like to find good deals, right?  Everyone does.  I think we spend a lot of time trying to find the best deals and we put a lot of effort into our researching and shopping experience.  That can save a lot of money, but it can also take a lot of our valuable time as well.

 

Recently, as I was thinking about how we like to find good deals, I thought about the best deal we have found as people of faith.  The best deal we could have ever asked for is Jesus Christ dying for us and offering us eternal life by accepting Him as our Savior.  This is truly the best deal ever!  There is no comparison shopping.  But often, we do comparison shop.  We want to see if the world is going to offer us a better deal by chasing after other things that offer a happier way of living. 

 

We can easily get tricked and deceived by believing going a certain way or believing a certain thing will help us more.  We buy the latest thing on the market and we get a high for a while.  But after a while, the feeling fades and we’re back to searching again. 

 

Jesus said that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.  There is NO better deal anywhere in the entire universe!  He is the real deal!  We simply cannot get any better than this. 

 

Are we daily thankful for the best deal we have ever received?  Are we daily grateful that Jesus has given us the best life ever?  I hope so.

Give Me Your Eyes

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/W1aaE0kgSUs?si=Rf8kl8W9-gqFPFr5

“Give Me Your Eyes”

1 John 4:7-8 NIV

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love

 

Recently, I was working remote for most of one of the days in a coffee shop.  The place seemed to be busy most of the day.  Every so often, I would find myself looking up and around to observe all the different people gathered at various tables.  If there’s one thing that my wife and I find fascinating to do in public, it’s people watching.  There’s something about it that is intriguing to us.  I found it intriguing especially as different thoughts started popping into my head regarding how I observed different people.  I started imagining who these people might be and the scenario of their discussions.

 

I noticed some older ladies enjoying each others company.  I’m guessing they were retired and possibly sitting around talking about their grandkids or their kids and the families.

 

I noticed some younger gals sitting together and imagined maybe they were college students discussing classes or various things going on in their lives.

 

I noticed some tables with a young guy and gal chatting.  Perhaps they were discussing their dating relationship or discussing the exciting things they were looking forward to in the coming days or weeks.

 

I noticed some people sitting at tables and wondered if one of them was going through a divorce.  A friend helping a friend cope with that difficult part of life.

 

I imagined a father sitting with a son or a mother sitting with a daughter and chatting about some difficult times the child was having with school.

 

As they day progressed, I just kept imagining different people and various scenarios of discussions going on and the excitement or sorrow being expressed in those conversations.  Some people were celebrating life, just hanging out or possibly having one of the worst seasons of their life. 

 

As I took this all in here and there in between the work I was doing, I kept thinking about Brandon Heath’s song “Give Me Your Eyes”.  It reminded me how so often we are clueless to the people around us and all that is going on inside of them.  They might be good at hiding what is actually happening inside and able to fake it on their faces.  They could be really struggling through tough stuff and no one knows.

 

This is a reminder to you and me that we should be very aware of our surroundings and the people around us each day.  Often times God puts us around these people to observe and offer words of encouragement and for us to notice and lend a helping hand.