After Barry retired, we team-taught Adult Sunday School and took classes.
In one such class, we were randomly given 3 ordinary playing cards. A poster listed each card’s meaning. I turned over a card and found I had a full-ride scholarship! The next card was a second full-ride scholarship! I started to feel pretty cocky.
Then I checked the third card, and discovered that I was pregnant. And just like that, my “future” collapsed.
Luckily it was just a game.
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Sometimes the events of our life feel just as random. Scripture says,
Stop and think about everything that God causes to happen. You cannot change a thing, even if you think it is wrong. When life is good, enjoy it. But when life is hard, remember: God gives us good times and hard times. And no one knows what tomorrow will bring. Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 International Children’s Bible
Job understood. “We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?” Job 2:10b The Message
(Take a deep breath and remember: a bad day doesn’t mean a bad life!)
We live in a messed-up world that’s getting messier by the minute. Jesus said, “… in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” John 16:33b The Passion Translation
“I have,” not “I will.” It was a done-deal even before the crucifixion. It is a done-deal now. We couldn’t do it and we can’t undo it. “It is finished.”
Jesus also says, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Matthew 6:34 The Message
(Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due. William R. Inge)
“So we do not give up. Our body gets weak, but our heart gets new strength day after day. The load of trouble we carry now is a little heavy. But this trouble is getting something great and wonderful ready for us which will last for ever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Worldwide English (New Testament)
God never gives up.
He is always with us, always there for us.
We are never forsaken. We are never alone.
There is Reason, Wisdom and Love behind everything that happens:
