Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 6 November 2021 | Sunday Message
Topic: Triple Trouble
Scripture: “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses.” – 2 Corinthians 6:4
Message: Troubles. Hardships. Distresses. Ever heard that old adage, “Bad things come in threes”? There’s no biblical support for such arithmetic, but it happens.
For example, bitterness was a temptation to me in the early days of my paralysis. Deep inside I knew it was wrong, but I justified myself saying, “Surely God won’t mind if I let off a little steam every now and then. After all, I am paralyzed!”
As if that trouble weren’t enough, God added a second hardship: Several months into my hospital stay, I had an operation on my lower spine. After the surgery I was forced to lie facedown for fifteen days while the stitches healed. “I am sick and tired of this,” I complained out loud.
Then, the third distress. I caught the flu. Suddenly not being able to move was peanuts compared to not being able to breathe. I was fit to be tied! But as I thought about it, I understood what God was doing. No longer was my bitterness a tiny trickle; it was a raging torrent that could not be ignored. It was as if God were holding my anger up before my face and saying lovingly but firmly, “Stop turning your head and looking the other way. This bitterness has got to go. What are you going to do about it?”
The pressure had gotten so strong that I was either going to give the situation over to him completely or allow myself to wallow in bitterness. Faced with that ultimatum, it helped me see clearly what a wicked course bitterness would be. Sometimes troubles, hardships, and distresses – in three or more – back us into a corner to get us seriously considering the lordship of Christ.
Pray: Lord, when troubles pile on, may I look to you for help and hope
Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 6 November 2021 is taken from Diamonds in the Dust – By Joni Eareckson Tada