A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.
Home About Us Archives Free email subscription
Listen
to these
messages
Text only
for
printing
Monday, January 16, 2012
On the way home from church yesterday we passed an Amish farm with distinct evidence that they were also having a church service. (The Amish meet in homes for church services purposefully rotating among the homes of church members.) This farm is along Sunnyside Road near Mount Joy, PA.
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
On the way home from church yesterday we passed an Amish farm with distinct evidence that they were also having a church service. (The Amish meet in homes for church services purposefully rotating among the homes of church members.) This farm is along Sunnyside Road near Mount Joy, PA.
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."Intended For Good"
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20).
I heard a dynamic testimony from Larry Wright, a Christian businessman friend that really touched my heart. He shared how he had worked hard all his life, arising in position and stature until he was the president of a large national company. Under his leadership the company did very well and he was really enjoying his work. However, due to a principled stand he took on an issue, he was fired.
He shared of his deep hurt and the budding bitterness that began to consume his emotions. But he kept his faith through the painful testing, and in God’s timing another position opened up where he was able to use his business skills for the Lord in a parachurch ministry. He felt led to write a letter to the man who fired him and testified of God's work in his life. He actually expressed thanks for this man's part in the fulfillment of God's plan!
When we are hurt by others our faith and character are tested by how we respond, forcing us to settle this question: Is God really in charge or isn’t He? Of course He's in charge, absolutely, completely, all the time, even when others have hurt us with intent, the most painful type of hurt.
Joseph certainly knew hurt and he had a long wait to see God's greater plan come about. Yet he stayed faithful to God and when things finally came together he could reassure his fearful brothers as he did in the daily text. He realized that, although his brothers had intended him harm (and they surely did!), God has an amazing way of overriding the evil intent of others and aligning the "fallout" from their actions to His intended purpose.
Living here below we've all been hurt by the words or actions of others. Yesterday we sang, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", written by Joseph Scriven in 1855. The line gripped me: "Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?" Brooksyne shared an interesting background to the hymn: Scriven, who lived in Canada, had been away from his mother in Ireland for ten years and learned that she was going through difficulty; some accounts speak of a misunderstanding that she had with a close friend and others indicate that she was ill. He wrote a comforting letter, enclosing the words of his newly written poem, with the prayer that these brief lines would remind her of a never-failing heavenly Friend.
I still wince when I pull from my painful memory file some particularly vicious sheep bites over the years of my pastoral ministry. But since I now view them in hindsight, I can more clearly see how God worked through the situation and how He worked in my life, building strength of character as He tested my faith for genuineness as I was put through the scourge of refining fire (I Peter 1:7).
Keep your faith and wait for God's timing as He most assuredly is working out His purpose in your life. Don’t allow bitterness to brew lest you sip on the poison afterward and develop a tainted view toward God and others in general. One day perhaps you'll write a letter of thanks to the one who hurt you and, like Joseph, testify that God intended it for good, for He always has a much bigger and better plan!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
Prayer: Father, we’re reminded of
the amazing and unpredictable way You work all things together for good
when we read the story of Joseph, from the time of his youth to his
final breath. Instead of scheming for revenge he sought to relieve his
brothers. He comforted their troubled hearts with the reassuring
message; You sold me, but God sent me. Help us to recognize that when
we are hurt by other’s words or actions, You surpass their debilitating
impact on our lives by the greater plan You’re working in us; teaching
us to trust You implicitly, forgive unreservedly, and to be molded into
the character of Christ who gave His all in the midst of hateful
injustice. Evil was present, but the much greater purpose was that we might be saved from our
sins through His submission to Your overall plan. We thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Saturday morning we had our friends John & Faithe Keefer and Jesse & Wilma Dourte over for breakfast and several hours of great fellowship.
Yesterday afternoon Mike and Nicole Martin as well as Ron and Shirley Sipe joined us as we enjoyed some pizza and several hours of fellowship again!
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Trust His Heart" Video Brooksyne's note:
I
remember when I first heard this song in 1992 as I was praying at my
kitchen table. God had revealed to Stephen and me that He wanted
us to
move on in our ministry after serving a church in northern Pennsylvania
for nearly sixteen years, but He had not shown us when or where the
place was to be. As I listened intently to these words I was
reminded
that our future was in His hands and in the midst of our uncertainty we
could "trust His heart." It was a very memorable spiritual experience
and I pray that this truth will minister to your needs as well.
"What A Friend We Have In Jesus" Video Homecoming series with Larry Ford. Here is a background story of the hymn prepared and read by Brooksyne. mp3
"Follow Me" Video Homecoming series with Larry Ford An Ira Stanphill song with a testimony by his wife shortly after he died. An outstanding song of commitment to Christ.
"I Will Not Offer Anything That Costs Me Nothing" Video Bobby Michaels
Send
a message to Stephen &
Brooksyne"What A Friend We Have In Jesus" Video Homecoming series with Larry Ford. Here is a background story of the hymn prepared and read by Brooksyne. mp3
"Follow Me" Video Homecoming series with Larry Ford An Ira Stanphill song with a testimony by his wife shortly after he died. An outstanding song of commitment to Christ.
"I Will Not Offer Anything That Costs Me Nothing" Video Bobby Michaels
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this
daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and
podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com
© Copyright 2012 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA