Daily Devotional: Monday, May 10
Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: I'm Overwhelmed
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Let the Praises Ring by Lincoln Brewster; God is With Us by Michael Olson; How Great is Our God/How Great Thou Art by Chris Tomlin; You'll Come by Hillsong.
Read: Psalm 46
Think: Pastor Ben’s focus this weekend on the idea of ‘margin’ struck a chord with me, because the concept is one I work with every day. My job is to make and monitor loans to restaurant companies, inherently risky businesses. We need to be sure that our borrowers are producing cash flow at a significant margin over the payments they need to make on our loans.
A few years ago, a handful of units of one of the biggest restaurant chains in the country had a problem with a serious food-borne illness. Not surprisingly, as news of the outbreak spread, people across the nation stopped eating at the chain. Some operators of this brand, even one whose stores had sold tainted food, had large margins built into their way of doing business, and made it through the difficult time successfully. Others, though far from the source of the problem, had little margin, and faltered at the unexpected turn of events.
For many of us, our relationship with God is fine when times are good. But it is a fact of life that we will all encounter unexpected problems. An illness, a financial setback, or the breakdown of a relationship can overwhelm us unexpectedly. A shallow experience of God’s presence, one lacking in ‘margin’, can be severely tested in these times of stress.
We are tempted to question whether God truly loves us, or even if He is there.
But God offers to each of us a deeper, closer relationship. He wants to be with us in good times and bad, celebrating with us or supporting us as the situation warrants. If we are willing, God provides a generous margin of safety – the assurance of His presence and strength to help us through any difficulty. Through daily reliance on God in every circumstance, we can say with the Psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. That’s all the margin we’ll ever need.
Do: Put a bookmark in your Bible at Psalm 46 (or save a link to it in your internet browser favorites). Resolve that the next time life throws you a curve you will read this passage and rely on God as your margin of strength and safety.
Pray: Lord, I accept your invitation to a life in close relationship with you. Show me your presence in both good times and tough times, so that I will learn to trust you and rely on you always. Be my refuge and strength. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
|
