Burning Question:
What is something that has been discontinued that you wish would come back?
Morning Devotional:
It has been rare as of late that I get to watch an entire professional football game. Last night’s game was a big one for my team and I have to say I am not happy about how it turned out.
It was not a pretty sight.
As a very loyal fan, you want your team to win and you’re willing to endure a lot to get there. The ups and downs of watching your team advance and then retreat, charge forward again only to fall on their face can really wear on you over time, though. Now you’re just the spectator in that scenario. How would you feel as the athlete? I think we would definitely be in “the thrill of victory, agony of defeat” territory.
If anyone in the Word experienced this rollercoaster of emotion, it had to be the prophet Elijah. Elijah had his share of victories, but he also knew what that sudden feeling of defeat felt like. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah was the only prophet of the Lord standing against four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah enjoyed a stunning victory that day, but in the very next chapter, we find Elijah sulking under a juniper tree pleading with the Lord to end his life.
We’re so quick to forget the victories that the Lord has given us, aren’t we? If the great men and women of faith in the Word can go from victory to defeat so easily, how much more easily do we do it? Those moments of defeat, though, are attacks from the enemy and we need to remember that is his modus operandi. He tries to draw our attention away from all the good God has done.
If you are finding yourself defeated today, look up and focus on the victories God has accomplished in your life. That faith exercise will get you across the finish line before you know it.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: What book portrays wisdom as a woman?
Answer: Proverbs (Proverbs 1:20-21, 8:1-3)
Storytime: Mall Walking!