The Upper Room 8 January 2024 Devotional
The Upper Room 8 January 2024 Devotional, Monday Message by Margaret Foegen Karsten (Wisconsin, USA)
TOPIC: Blessings within Burdens
TODAY’S READING
John 11:32-44
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. – Romans 8:28 (NIV)
At age 22, our son, John, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, had surgery to insert feeding tubes. Loss of muscles, including those that control swallowing, created a condition that contributed to frequent pneumonia. John had also lost weight.
Two months after the surgery, with Thanksgiving approaching, I felt despondent because John could no longer join in family meals with us. The scripture reading at church about Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead took on new meaning, however. Instead of lamenting that John couldn’t eat, I thanked God that he was alive. How wonderful that God gave people the knowledge and skill to put all nutrients needed to sustain human life in a can!
John could not enjoy family meals as he once had, but he could laugh, talk, play games, defend his views, give advice, tell jokes, and watch his favorite football team. Although the ingenuity underlying tube-feeding that restored his life differed markedly from Christ’s miraculous raising of Lazarus, it allowed John to be with us for 11 more years and live to see his younger sisters become adults.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for helping us see how you can use even heavy burdens to restore life. Help us live one day at a time, trusting you to provide for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hidden blessings can be found in heavy burdens.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those with muscular dystrophy
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.