To My Sisters In Christ:

I subscribe to an email list called Primetime with God that sends out a daily prayer as well as a daily devotional. This was in my in-box today and was pertinent to myself and for most of my friends who work in other offices on campus. It was the pick-me-up that we all appreciated to remind us of thoughts to keep in mind, when we are ‘going through’.

Today's Prayer

Dear God,
Your Word does not return void. Oh, how I have seen this truth. Thank You for Your Word...and thank You for using me right where I am to do Your work. Thank You for using me in "my little Jerusalem" to influence lives for You. ("...and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" Acts 1:8.) Please forgive me of lost opportunities and help me to see when opportunities of service and ministry are in front of me. Please stir up the gift that is within me that I will take action and do Your will. Thank You for spiritual blessings that fill me with joy. I praise You, Almighty God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


Today's Devotional

Seeing a Greater Purpose in Adversity
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman

But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" - Acts 16:28

Paul and Silas had just been thrown into prison. An earthquake erupted and the jail cell was opened. It's Paul and Silas' opportunity. "Deliverance! Praise God!" might be the appropriate response. But this is not what Paul and Silas did. In fact, rather than leave, they sat quietly in their cell area. The guard, in fear of his life, knew that it would be automatic death if prisoners escaped. Paul and Silas did not leave because they saw a higher purpose for which they were in prison. They were not looking at their circumstance; they were much more concerned about the unsaved guard. The story goes on to explain how Paul and Silas went home with the guard and his family. Not only did the guard get saved, but his entire household as well.

What a lesson this is for us. How often we are so busy looking for deliverance from our circumstance that we miss God completely. God is looking to do miracles in our circumstances if we will only look for them. Sometimes as workplace believers we become so obsessed with our goals we miss the process that God involves us in, which may be where the miracle lies. What if that bill collector who has been hounding you is unsaved and he is there for you to speak to? What if a problem account has arisen due to something God is doing beyond what you might see at this time? Our adverse situations can often be the door of spiritual opportunity for those who need it.

I saw this personally when God allowed me to go through a number of adversities. It took some time, but I saw some great miracles as a result of those adversities. When God said that "all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes" (see Rom. 8:28), He meant all things. It is up to us to find the "work together for good" part by being faithful to the process. In the next adversity you face, tune your spiritual antennae and ask God for discernment to see the real purpose for the adversity.