TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE

DEVOTIONAL

by Elder Chris Beltran

A woman was at work when she received a frantic call from home that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her job at once and dropped by the pharmacy to get some medicine for her daughter. On her way to the car, she found out that she had locked her keys inside the vehicle. To make things worse, her helper called again and told her to hurry home since her daughter was getting worse. She didn’t know what to do and broke down in tears.

In her desperation, she remembered her pastor’s sermon about prayer. So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. A few minutes later, an old car pulled up, and a dirty, smelly, bearded man with tattoo marks on his arms asked her if he could help. She quietly complained to God, “Lord, this is what You send me? Couldn’t You send me someone more decent?” But she was desperate, so she told the man that she needed to get home immediately as her daughter was very sick, and her keys were locked inside the car. “Can you help me unlock my car, sir?”

The man said, “sure,” and in less than a minute, the car was opened. In her joy, she hugged that man and said, “Thank you very much, you are a very nice man.” The man replied, “Lady, I just got out of prison today for car theft and kidnapping. I’m an ex-con and not a nice man.” The woman hugged the man again, and with tears, she said, “Lord! Thank you for sending me a professional.”

Lesson no. 1: The ex-convict that is willing to help instead of taking advantage of the lady may be rare. However, no matter how bad we think a person is, ex-convict or not, everyone is created in God’s image and likeness. There will always be a part of a person’s heart that is good; thus, everyone is worth caring for and sharing the gospel to. God values everyone, and so should we.

Lesson no. 2: Never judge a person by how one looks. Many people don’t have the looks and figures of the models, actors, and singers in magazines and TV. However, the real beauty lies not in the external but the internal character. God looks at the heart, and so should we.

Lesson no. 3: God answers prayers, often in unexpected ways.

Another story was when a lady was more than halfway climbing a mountain with her friends when she suddenly scratched her eyes. Suddenly, her contact lens fell off. She and her friends tried but couldn’t find it. The thought of going down that treacherous mountain trail with blurry vision frightened her. She prayed for it to be found, knowing the big odds against it.

As she was slowly going down, a group of climbers coming up told them about an unusual sight that they witnessed a few meters away. They saw an ant carrying a contact lens walking uphill and showed the lady a picture that they had taken of it.

With God, nothing is impossible. Don’t limit our infinite God with our limitations of how He should do things. The Lord will never run out of options. Who would have thought that He could send an ex-convict or even an ant to do His will? Completely trust God since He works in ways that we cannot see. He will always make way for us as long as we remain in Him and His Word remain in us.

Additional lessons: never leave your car keys inside the car. Don’t scratch your eyes when you are wearing contact lenses. Lastly, whenever you see ants busy working, don’t just step on them, but learn and appreciate their perseverance.

REFLECTION

Are you encountering difficult situations that look impossible to resolve? Are you almost at the end of your rope? Is your life seem to be unfair, cruel, and hopeless? We hope that through this devotion, you are reminded that our hope and strength should be anchored in the Lord alone. He will always make way for us.

PRAYER

Lord, strengthen me with this prayer. Remind me that there is no problem too big that You cannot solve; there is no mountain too tall that You cannot move; there is no storm too dark that You cannot calm; there is no sorrow too deep that You cannot soothe. Jesus carried the world’s weight upon his shoulders when he was hanged on the cross for the sins of the world. I know that You will carry me on Your shoulders as well. Thank you so much, Lord, in Jesus’ name.