September 24, 2011


Today's Photograph . . . . The Forecast Was Dreary,  Rainey, and Overcast (Dave M)

Bible Study Verse

Proverbs 8:34-35
Blessed are those who listen to Me, watching daily at My doors, waiting at My doorway.  For those who find Me find life and receive favor from the LORD.  (NIV)

Thoughts

This past week, my family and I were hiking Mount Mansfield in Vermont while on vacation.  The way the schedule worked out, we had to hike the summit on a Sunday.

But as Sunday approached, the forecast was nothing other than dreary, rainy, and overcast.   This led to us having a discussion on whether or not to even bother with the hike.  If it was going to be rainy, we would have zero visibility when we got to the top.  All of our hard work to get up the mountain would provide us with not one view below of what we had hiked for for hours. To press on or not with seemingly little reward - that was the question.

Action Point

Have you had dark periods in your life where you were pressing on, working, and doing the best you could for the Lord, but it just didn't seem like God was rewarding you for your efforts? 

Remember, it's not up to us to deem what is a worthy reward and what is not.  If you are working for the Lord with the right motives in place, God will certainly reward you for your efforts.  However, you may never see it at the time. 

Does that mean you stop, because you have no view of the reward?  Your job and mine is simply to be faithful to what God has called us to do ---- reward or not!!!

Sportsmen's Tip of the Day

In backpacking, you often will run across lodges or cabins where you and others will stay while passing through on your journey.  Why not take a Sportsmens Devotional card or an outdoor devotional and leave it at these places?  In my experience, people are more apt to take the time to sit down and read at a place like this.  Allow them the opportunity to read about God's creation while they are staring it in the face!