THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL 17TH SEPTEMBER 2025, WEDNESDAY MESSAGE
Today’s Reading
1 Peter 4:8-11
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
My friend Dave suffers from severe Parkinson’s disease. He now needs a wheelchair, speaks in a whisper, and cannot lift his head. Although Dave has limitations, every weekday he gives what he has to hundreds of people in his community.
In the afternoon before school lets out, Dave wheels his chair down to the end of the driveway and waves to the buses filled with school children. When he feels strong enough, Dave tips his cap to the boys and girls who look forward to seeing their “driveway friend.” On most days the bus drivers slow down so the children can cheer and call out greetings like “I love you, Dave.” Dave was once a healthy man and an athlete. Even though he is now dependent on the people who once depended on him, Dave hasn’t stopped giving to others.
God doesn’t ask us to give what we don’t have, but God does expect us to give what we do have. Even when we feel cast
aside by declining health, limited finances, family estrangement, or other adversities, we still have gifts and talents God can use to minister to others. Remembering Dave’s wave, we can ask God to show us how to use what we have been given to bless others.
Today’s Prayer
Dear God, help us to appreciate all that you have given us and to use our lives to bless others. Amen.
Thought for the Day
I will not let personal adversities keep me from loving others.
Prayer Focus
People with Parkinson’s disease
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More from Elizabeth Erlandson
The Upper Room Devotional 17th September 2025 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. Read More
