How to Find God in a Horror Movie

This may seem counterintuitive but bear with me as I explain.

Horror movies may seem like the bane of good Christian values, but like an onion it has layers. Peel back the surface, you will find that there are inherent values and a lesson to be learned by those who seek it. When you see a horror movie you come face to face with the worst mankind can come up with. In the movies, the devil is on earth, the dead come back to life, and society as we know it crumbles. Cynical viewing aside, a horror movie can be a morale about the injustice in this world. A simple truth that bad things happen to good people. Horror movies bring that to the forefront of our minds. Like Job, we are forced to reconcile that our power is limited when compared to the all-mighty. We don’t know everything. In the story of Job, we are shown that bad things happen to good people. We are humbled because our power doesn’t match God’s power. No one is perfect like God. We can struggle to comprehend the concept that bad things happen to good people. A good horror movie brings that struggle to the forefront. He knows all and we know little compared to him. We find God in horror movies by accepting our limited understanding when compared to the Almighty.

 Then Job replied to the Lord:

 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.

 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
 My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
 Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Prayer: Dear God, please bless us with your wisdom. Help guide us as we confront injustice in this world. Help us to put our faith in you lord. Help us to understand our shortcomings. Help us to grow. Help us to love. Guide us when life is cruel when we stumble and fall. Lift us up with your loving hands. In your name we pray, Amen.

Charles Kendeigh (reprinted from 2021)

Creation's Beauty

 

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. Genesis 2:8-9

I know God created these mums when I see them in fall.

Having been raised on a Nebraska farm, I always appreciated the vegetation around me whether it was for beauty or for food. I worked in the fields, gleaned corn and gathered the cattle with my horse Queenie. My mother always had a vegetable garden with multiple flowers. I can picture that garden in my thoughts. These mums that come alive in my yard each October give me the same warm feelings I had on the farm. My granddaughter studied this summer in Oxford, England. It warmed my heart when she brought home this small sign. She saw “garden” and thought of me.               

But soon they rebelled and were driven from the beautiful garden. Genesis 3:24.                                 

Creation’s beauty waits to thrill us and instruct us. Our loving Father wills it so. But creation will be fully restored soon, and soon, and “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing” Isaiah 35:1-2

Prayer: I pray to God our Father today, be with those who have lost their homes and gardens in the war or the hurricanes. Thank you for the first garden of Eden and all the geraniums, hibiscus, roses, hydrangeas, daisies and other flowers I can grow in my garden. I think of you, Lord, when each of these has its season in my yard. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck (photos above shared by Sandra)

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks for the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1 

Words from Psalm 65

They who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the sunrise and the sunset shout for joy. Psalm 65:8 

Words from Hebrews

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:28 NIV 

The Price of Our Peace

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6

The prophet Isaiah addressed the Jewish people around 700 B.C., during the time that they were in captivity in Babylonia. They were displaced and miserable. Isaiah was reminding them that they needed to turn away from their sinful ways and back to God, who had promised to send a messiah to save them. Isaiah seemed to know more about the future savior than anyone, and he accurately foretold the suffering that Jesus would endure in order to save God’s people. But while the Jewish people had to wait hundreds of years for their messiah, and many did not recognize Him when he appeared, we have the advantage of knowing “the rest of the story,” as told in the New Testament. By sending His son to earth, God proved how much He loves even His sinful people, and we have only to believe His promise that our faith in Jesus Christ will lead us to “the peace that surpasses all understanding.”

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, as we prepare to celebrate His birth, we thank You for the mercy You have shown Your sinful people by sending Jesus to live among us. We thank You for the peace that comes with our faith in the Trinity, and we pray that others will find such peace as well. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done. Amen.

Judith Keller (reprinted from 2016)

Complaints Not Allowed

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)      

Our society has become fractured and polarized, with individuals criticizing others about almost every topic possible. A number of years ago, I heard about a book called “A Complaint Free World.” The author, Will Bowen, is a minister and he suggested trying to break the habit of complaining by going 21 days in a row without complaining. He even suggested wearing a bracelet and moving it to the other wrist each time you complain. It doesn’t take a specific kind of bracelet, but a search for “complaint bracelet” on Amazon.com returned 166 items. 

I haven’t tried it, in part because I doubt whether I’d last more than one day. There are days when I think I might spend most of my time moving the bracelet.   

We have a lot of synonyms for “complain”: beef, bellyache, carp, crab, croak, fuss, gripe, grouse, growl, grumble, moan, mutter, squawk, wail, whine, and yammer. And then there are related words, like protest, quibble, fret, stew, worry, bemoan, bewail, deplore, and lament. There are at least 29 references to complain or complaints in the Bible. 

The thesaurus lists several “near antonyms,” including accept, bear, countenance, endure, tolerate, applaud, cheer, and commend. But there’s only one antonym listed: REJOICE. 

It’s easy to complain, bellyache, growl, mutter and whine. If it’s not the weather, it’s that driver who just cut you off, or the sales clerk who was a little short with you, or the price of gas, or the co-worker who just gets on your nerves. 

But how easy is it to rejoice? It shouldn’t be that difficult, should it? We can rejoice because we are able to worship together, to give thanks to God for our blessings, to know that our prayers are heard and answered. We can rejoice in the fact that Jesus died for our sins and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have eternal life. The next time you find yourself complaining about something, why not stop and, instead, rejoice in the risen Lord.

          

Prayer: Dear God, we ask for your help in changing our habit of complaining. We have much to rejoice about, yet we find it easier to grouse about the little things that irritate us. With your help, we can work to shine like stars in the universe and exult in the knowledge that you are our savior. 

 

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)

Words from Isaiah

Say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Isaiah 35:4 NIV 

Gratitude

Let gratitude for the past inspire us with trust for the future. ~ Francois Fenelon 

Words from Psalm 56

In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. Psalm 56:4 ESV 

For the Beauty of the Earth

 In his hands are the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:4-5

We enjoyed our annual trip to the North Woods this year even with the differences because of COVID 19. There were no sauna nights, no family potluck in the Yurt, no trips to the Wifi cabin to check e-mail (this was a good thing), no loud and raucous family game nights with cousins, and no watching small children while other family members spent a day on the lake. We accommodated these missing traditions with LOTS of time on the boat, outdoor visits (with plenty of bug spray) and more walks around camp to see each other for a quick hello. On our times boating around the lake we paid more attention to the water clarity, the beautiful water lilies, the tamarack trees, and the wildlife. We were delighted to see our first nesting loon, several deer, baby chickadees and lots of chipmunks, squirrels and Franklin’s ground squirrels. My husband and I have wondered before if we love this vacation destination because of the family reunion feel, or the closeness to nature, the absence of technology or just the sensation that we are stepping back in time. 

On the drive home I thought about how rejuvenated I felt with a week away, enjoying the beauty of the outdoors and paying attention to God’s creatures. I couldn’t help but think of Pierpoint’s 1863 hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth”. I remember singing this in church as a very small child, with my grandmother. I was amazed to find out this hymn is nearly 150 years old. In doing a little research I found that Pierpoint originally wrote this for use during communion and that the original lyrics were a “sacrifice of praise” instead of the now common refrain “this, our hymn of grateful praise”.  
http://hymnbook.igracemusic.com/hymns/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth  

This year I have worked more than ever before, and I really didn’t realize how badly I needed a break. Even though this is something we do every year, it was more special this year. More valuable. More interesting. More focused on recognizing the beauty. Relaxing in the wonder of wilderness. Splashing in the cold lake. Taking time for family. Being grateful.  

Prayer: God who created our world and has shared wisdom with man on the need to preserve it, thank you for a week in the beauty of northeast Minnesota.  Thank you for entertaining animals, time with family and a break from responsibility. Your world is so beautiful and we are so blessed to experience it. Amen.    

Christi Moock (reprinted from 2020)

Roads

He leads me to paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalms 23:3

“There is more than one way to get to Omaha”

I grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and the above phrase was very familiar to me. Literally, there were 2 highways to Omaha—one in Iowa and one in Nebraska. Conversing on this, there were usually footnotes on where the best places were to stop and have coffee or chili, the best road conditions, the cleanest bathrooms at gas stations, and the fastest routes. As I have gotten older, I have recognized additional meanings to this phrase. There is more than one way to solve a problem. Many people can contribute with their skills to get to the communal goal. It is okay to take different paths for a positive result.

While I was in grade school, there was an uproar in town regarding the city’s libraries and a bookmobile. The city council planned to close several of the small neighborhood libraries and replace them with a used bookmobile. The argument was: it is cheaper to run a bookmobile than pay multiple salaries and do the upkeep on the buildings, and the bookmobile could go to many neighborhoods (poor) where people could not get to a library. If you wanted a specific book, you could call ahead and the bookmobile could provide it to you. The city could have fewer librarians and save on the cost of salaries. The counter argument: the current libraries were used extensively by the neighboring schools that did not have libraries in their buildings, the data showed that the libraries were used by many children and adults, there were more books available in the libraries along with resources than a bookmobile could supply, and the physical libraries were already paid for. The librarians were faithful city employees who would lose their jobs. There was also the cost of buying a used bookmobile. My mother was the head of my school’s PTA and the PTA supported keeping the libraries. We attended many city council meetings, signed petitions to keep the libraries, and looked at the success of bookmobiles in similar communities. Not everybody was happy with the end result, but we all survived. The city closed the little libraries and bought the bookmobile, but because of the communities' interest in solving the extended problems with the schools, a special fund was established to help the schools start their own libraries, there was a commitment to build new bigger regional libraries and a new central library with a much wider set of resources to the community, and library employees from the smaller libraries would not lose their jobs but would work in the bigger regional libraries. Plus, the city recognized these faithful librarians for their service to the community.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all those who have helped provide our faith community with worship and fellowship opportunities, ongoing Bible studies, Christian education, music, running the day-to-day management of the church, writing devotions, and providing prayer shawls. Thank you for the mission commitments in our community and the world. Help us to remember that there are many roads to Omaha, and there are people with many skills who contribute to your church and the goal to praise you - God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen 

Nancy Hall (reprinted from 2020)

Stressful Days

 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore. Psalm 121

Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. Ephesians 3:20

It is my busy season at work. “Busy” doesn’t seem to capture it very well. Stressful describes it better. Add in personal obligations and it is overwhelming at times. Can you relate?
 
In a previous devotion I shared where I have learned to ask Jesus “What is the next thing I need to do?” in the midst of being pulled in so many directions. And He faithfully answers. And then I ask again and He answers. Like a child, I trust my father to tell me what is best.
 
At particularly stressful times, I calm myself by taking a breath in while thinking “breathing in peace” and exhaling while thinking “breathing out grace”. Peace to calm me and grace to give others. Jesus brings me back to thinking clearly and stops (sometimes) my tongue. I keep doing this until my breathing becomes slow and calm.

When roadblocks hit (computer doesn’t cooperate, a project stalls without other information, a headache comes on), I now look at those moments as God saying “That’s enough for now; let’s deal with that later”. Be thankful for little things (a hot shower, ice cream, or my husband making dinner).

At night when you can’t shut off your brain of things to do or worry, I do two things: 1) I get up and write down the list of “to do” things in my head; and 2) I say the Lord’s Prayer in my head very, very slowly concentrating on each word. Say it again until you fall asleep.

Remember to show extra love to those closest to you as they often, unintentionally, receive less time and attention from you. Love brings you back to center.
 
Peace and grace to you.

Prayer: Dear Father, In the midst of trial and stress, thank you for your peaceful presence guiding us if only we would look to you to show us the way. We will keep trying to let you lead instead of trying to do it all on our own. Amen.

Cathy Schapmann (reprinted from 2018)
 

He is Faithful

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (NRSV) Lamentations 3:21-26   

Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness. (AMP) Psalm 37:3

The songs “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness” touch my soul. Their verses remind me how loyal and faithful God has been to me throughout my life. Even when I wander, even when I doubt...He's STILL there. No matter how much I sin, He forgives me every time I ask. He faithfully loves me, guides me, strengthens me, provides for my needs, gives me peace and gives me hope. And as I mourn the loss of my mom, He's been there to dry every tear. It's so amazing having such an immensely loving and faithful friend--especially when I'm not always a good friend to Him.

At the top of my lungs, I sing these verses from “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)” by Chris Tomlin: 

Whom shall I fear?

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

I picture God “before me...behind me...by my side”--at all times surrounded by His powerful love. Wow! That gives me such comfort, such confidence. 

In times when I'm feeling far away from God, and full of fears and doubts; I need to remember the many ways He's been faithful--both in my life and in the lives of others. I also need to call to mind the promises found in His Word, resting assured that He'll faithfully keep every one. It's not always easy to focus on these things in the middle of hard times; but when I do, I find my heart swells with thankfulness. And each time my heart is thankful, I find I'm better able to “hope in Him” and “wait for Him” like I should.

Prayer: Ever-Faithful Father, forgive us for our doubting, wandering hearts.  Open our eyes to see--and our hearts to appreciate--your immense love and faithfulness.  And thank you so much for surrounding us with your powerful love every day. Amen.

Sharon Irvin (reprinted from 2018)

Animals

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10

My daughter was enchanted by animals from a very early age, and was curious to get to know them and communicate with them. I tried to free myself of my inner fears of some animals and insects, and encourage her comfortable familiarity with the wild. She was the zoo visitor who would always gladly let a snake have its way with her, or let bugs crawl all over her.  

She loved being on Zoo Crew, especially when she was able to help with the Critter Encounter area. She brought her pet rats to 4H Pet Pals meetings and loved being at the animal exhibits at all the local fairs. She participated in domestic rat rescue programs, and helped find homes for rats used in the Nebraska Wesleyan University behavioral psychology courses.  

She did not enjoy ideal health growing up, so she earned a GED rather than complete high school classes; then she took veterinary technician courses online.  Our vet allowed her to observe and assist with procedures and surgeries, including those on her own animals.  

This spring, a year and a half after a life-giving 4th liver transplant, she helped her husband open up his own veterinary clinic (he is a vet) in South Korea. They serve both Koreans and English-speaking pet caretakers who need detailed communication. Because there is no specific training for veterinary nurses in Korea, she has ample qualifications as an assistant because of her experience and her general knowledge of human medical treatment (as an observant and informed patient). Her husband considers her to be his head nurse as well as assistant and office manager. Her blog and word-of-mouth have publicized their clinic as specializing in "exotic animals" such as hamsters and rats, so they have many tiny patients.

I get the news every few days of some interesting patient, including the dog that escaped and led them on a several-blocks-long chase through their downtown area.  She and her husband spend many long hours day and night at their clinic, making use of a pull-out bed there. Currently, they have three stray kittens they are treating, who will be offered to good homes eventually; one of them was separated too early from his mother and is having to be hand-fed and taught all the basics of elimination and hygiene. These are the things my daughter handles with ease.  

This is all born of a tremendous love for all the things animals teach us about living in God's world, about companionship, about loyalty and love, and about taking care of one another. Every day I am grateful for the people who helped my daughter to be well, or to feel better when she wasn't; but I am also grateful for the animals who shared their lives with her and cared for her. The cat she was especially close to used to sit with her in bed and have what we called "the laying-on of paws".  

There is a beautiful Benjamin Britten vocal piece with lyrics from a poem by Christopher Smart, and I hope you will be able to base your prayer on a few of those words:

For I will consider my cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him...

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him...

For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in the spirit...

For I perceived God's light about him both wax and fire...

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements...

For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.

Amen.

Mollie Manner (reprinted from 2018)

"Whatever you ask in prayer"

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:23-25 

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14

 

After my mom’s transition from this world to heaven in April 2007, we spent time contacting relatives and friends about her passing. Travel plans were made by those coming from a distance to be with us and arrangements were made for people needing transportation from the airport in Denver to Kimball, where her memorial service was to be held. Everything was going as well as could be expected, under the circumstances, and Roger and I eagerly anticipated the safe arrival of family members who were coming from various parts of the country.

As the two of us waited in our motel room in Kimball, we spent time watching the weather reports on TV and flight information on our computer. Those of us living in the Midwest know the weather can change within a heartbeat. The more we watched the weather reports, the more anxious we became as the sunny skies in the Denver area were being replaced with the elements of ice, snow and intense wind. We began to worry about whether flights would be able to land in Denver. And if they did, would the roads be passable for our loved ones to make the three hour trip from Denver to Kimball?  

My heart became extremely sad thinking those who meant the most to my mom would not be able to be in attendance to celebrate her life. And, as much as I wanted them there, we just couldn’t encourage them to get on the roads and take the chance of not making it to Kimball safely. I began to pray, asking God to move the storm away from the Denver area so we could be together, as a family, to pay honor to our loved one, His child. One whose life revolved around being the Lord’s servant, doing the will of her heavenly Father and exemplifying Christ’s love to everyone. I ended my prayer with “and in all things, Thy will be done”. I can still feel the sense of calm and peace that came upon me at that moment with God, knowing everything was going to be fine. Within the hour, Roger shared the storm was moving south and losing intensity over the Denver airport. Within the next 6 hours, all of our loved ones were sleeping safely in the motel in Kimball. The following day, we were together to celebrate a life well lived and to give thanks, to God, for answered prayer.

 

Prayer: God of our life and Lord of our souls, we thank you for prayer and the opportunity to ask and receive. Help us to more readily realize the power of prayer and more heartily embrace and believe in this wonderful gift you have graciously given to us.  Amen

Patty Niemann (reprinted from 2013)

Police Officers

Dear Wesley,

I prayed for you this week. I have always been proud of what you do for our country. Law enforcement is a necessity and you, as my granddaughter’s husband, are the only part of my family in law enforcement. I am thankful you are the father of my great grandsons. But I never tell you these things, so here I go-

I received a paper on “How to Pray” for law enforcement.

I prayed I am thankful for law enforcement and especially you.

I prayed for Intercession, that Christ will protect you.

I prayed that you would be drawn closer to God.

I prayed God makes you into what he wants you to be and gives you everything you could possibly need each day.

I prayed Jesus would be with you each and every day.

I Looked at Psalm 40:1-3 and prayed it for you as I know you come across these things. The Living Bible says, “God Blesses those (police officers) who are kind to the poor. He helps them out of their troubles. He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies. He nurses them when they are sick, and soothes their pains and worries.”

I prayed that as you face devastating violence, lots of people without jobs, people who have depression or stress disorders, people who have tried or succeeded with suicidal temptations and more, you will remain calm, and our Lord will be with you. 1 Chronicles 22:12 says, “And may the Lord give you the good judgment to follow all his laws when he makes you king of Israel” (you are king when you arrive at difficulties). For if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which he gave to you, you will prosper. Be strong and courageous, fearless and enthusiastic!” I pray these for you.

I will continue to pray for you, love you and honor you!

Sandra Hilsabeck

Prayers for those impacted by Hurricane Helene

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

October: Clergy Appreciation Month

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

This scripture is the verse of the day on BibleGateway.com, which I often use to look up Bible verses. The first part is familiar to us as it's similar to the words spoken by our pastors in the prayer before the sermon in worship services.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and we're asked to take action to let our pastors know how important they are to us. It doesn't have to be much-just telling them we appreciate them can be enough. Any of us who are employed probably wish we were thanked more often for our work. We have the chance to let our pastors know we're grateful for them.

I found a poem by Judy Crowe for pastor appreciation month, and the first and last verses state (with a little editing):

Have you ever walked in our pastors' shoes,

And gone where their feet have trod?

Have you ever thought of what they mean to us,

And on your knees, given thanks to God?

Eastridge is blessed with two pastors who have different gifts to share with us. Let us remember throughout the year to give thanks to God for their service with us.  

(And even though there is no staff appreciation month, let us remember and give thanks for the staff members who support the pastors.)

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for sending Melodie and Thomas to serve our church at this place and time. Help us to remember each day that they are here to guide us on our journey. And help us to let them know we are thankful for them. Amen.

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)

Wisdom

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.  Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:20-21

This spring marks five years since I completed graduate school. It feels like just yesterday I was spending hours every week pouring over textbooks, writing papers and finishing class projects. In those five years I have come to learn (sometimes the hard way) that it is good to ask for directions from those who have been down the path before you. As a project manager, I am responsible for working with a team to determine what work will be done, develop a plan to complete the work, and then carry out the plan and introduce the new technology. There are important lessons learned on each project and this is a job that definitely teaches a team about the dangers of making assumptions. Sometimes during a meeting, I know that the team will be annoyed or frustrated because I will ask the same question in different ways, but this is part of the wisdom that has been shared with me by my peers. From time to time, we work on plans and think that we have come up with a foolproof way to make something work, only to have it fall apart in testing. 

I always think that the second part of this verse matches with the often-seen sign, “We plan, God laughs”. I know that is meant to be tongue in cheek, but there are so many times that we plan and plan because we want something to be perfect. Sometimes we are close to what God has planned for us, other times, he needs to share his wisdom to get us back on the right path, still other times we are completely off course and God lets us learn a lesson so that next time we won’t make the same mistakes. These lessons, give us wisdom to carry forward on our own to accept instruction and also helps us to share our experience with others. While we don’t want to “wallow” in the past, it is good to know what we won’t do again and to have a plan to repeat things that have been successful.

As I was writing this devotion I reflected on the lessons I have learned throughout life and the times that I refused direction and wisdom and insisted on forging my own path. While I have certainly learned a lot, I have grown to have a lot more respect for wisdom and guidance and the need to slow down and pay attention in moments where my plan and God’s plan are not aligned.

Prayer: God who has guided us in all our lessons, help us to know when to ask for advice and wisdom, when to recognize that a lesson has been learned and to place value on those things that work well and are worth repeating.    

Christi Moock (reprinted from 2019)

Words from Corinthians

 

Words from Hebrews

 

Words from Psalm 34