The Upper Room 7th February 2022 Devotional | Monday Message
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Redemption
Brad Butler (North Carolina, USA)
TODAY’S READING
Isaiah 55:6-9
KEY VERSE: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. – Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
The Upper Room 7th February 2022 Devotional MESSAGE
I was in high school when my mother died after a long battle with cancer. I was not only sad; I was angry with God. I couldn’t see any purpose in what had happened, and I questioned God’s wisdom and even God’s existence. Though my grief subsided, the question, “Why?” still remained deep inside me. Whenever others mentioned their mothers, my hurt resurfaced.
After graduation from college, I became a high school chemistry teacher — a job I loved. I had been teaching for about 20 years when a student returned to class after missing a week of school because of the death of a parent. What was to be an hour of helping her catch up became an opportunity to empathize with her.
I told her I had been about her age when my mother died, and I shared with her the hurt I had felt when other kids mentioned their mothers. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you, Mr. B. No one else seems to understand.” Because of my own experience, I was able to offer her comfort and support.
At that moment I finally found something redeeming in the grief I had felt at my mother’s death and for the decades since. And I understood that when we grieve, God grieves with us.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Father God, thank you for being with us as we grieve. Teach us patience as we learn to trust you in all things. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
My experiences equip me to show God’s comfort to others.
PRAYER FOCUS
Young people who have lost a parent
The Upper Room 7th February 2022 Devotional. 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. Read More