HSBC Coffeebreak

Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Job 2:10

I believe that of all the Devil’s tools for making God’s people lose sight of His power and love is discouragement. The book of Job teaches us that the gift of encouragement is the strength gift, the love gift. Job’s friends meant well, but they missed what Job needed most - encouragement to believe in God’s love.

I was married straight out of high school to a wonderful, loving young man who was my hero, a football star and decorated war hero. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t recognized then, nor was the term clinical depression. I was so busy with my three small children I couldn’t see what was happening to the man I loved, nor he me.

Although both of us were Christians from our teens, raised in the Church, as young married adults we seldom attended church. Too busy doing our own thing! The drift apart was slow and we were drowning chasing the wrong dream. Life was hard. My husband was gone most of the time attending college and working two jobs after graduation; I was lonely, frazzled, tired, scared and wondering how to be a wife and mother of three alone. How we needed words of encouragement!

As our children grew, our problems became giants. Three babies in three years suddenly became three teens. The only advice we heard were statements like those Job’s friends gave him. We were both so discouraged! Our families tended to side with whatever their child said was wrong. We got confused about just who God really is.

After the divorce, I vowed I would never give advice like that. Guess what? Unless God changes us, we are what we learn. Until recently the words Job spoke in Job 2:10 never occurred to me as words of encouragement. But they were, for shouldn’t we accept the bad and the good in others? We needed to hear words of encouragement, not words filled with fear and judgment.

There is a vast difference between putting your nose in other people’s business and putting your heart in other people’s problems. Let’s be a Barnabas to our married children and friends and help them to tell each other what each needs to hear: “You’re wonderful, I’m glad I chose you as my life’s mate and I know God is in control even though things are difficult right now.”

We need to accept others as they are; however, we also need to work on changing our wayward behavior and habits. That’s love! That is Church.

Written by
JoAnn Shelton

HSBC Coffeebreak

I have planted, Apolos watered: but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.
I Corinthians 3:6 & 7

She was two years old (or should I say "two years bold?") and feeling every second of it. She had entered her room, opened the bottom drawer of her dresser, and flung its contents over her shoulder. It was great fun! So, she did it again... this time, she opened the drawer located above the one she'd just emptied. WHEE! Fling! Yipee Yahoo! Off the items would fly, over her head, up onto shelves, where ever they'd land, it was fun! She began on drawer number three, when her dad walked into her bedroom.

"No, no, no! STOP that! Now you are going to have to pick up all those things you just threw out and put them back."

She put her tiny hands on her hips, turned and faced her 200 pound dad and said with all the authority of a red headed two year old, "Get See-wee-us." (serious) She quickly learned that her dad was indeed "see-wee-us!" He stood there and made her pick up all the items she'd flung over her head and made sure she put them back into the drawers she emptied.

Later on, my husband and I had to go into her room and put back her dresser into an orderly fashion. We wanted our little girl to learn the lesson of hard work of putting things back and cleaning up messes she'd made, but a two year old style of organization wasn't what we'd wanted or needed for the dresser drawers.

Now there are several avenues I could take at this fork in the road for my devotional. I could write of how silly it is for us to deny doing things we know we are supposed to do for our heavenly father. I could write of the values of not doing what "feels fun at the time" only to suffer consequences of picking up messes we made later. However, I think I'll shed light on this angle...I wonder how many of the jobs I do for the Lord resemble the job my two year old did in putting things back into her dresser? She wasn't able to fold neatly, or organize short sleeves in one pile, long sleeves in another. God asks me to obey him. He is indeed serious about that! Just as we were pleased when our daughter chose to obey us, (after realizing how "see-wee-us" we were) I am sure our Father is pleased when we choose to obey him.

Perhaps it is through singing a worship song when our mood isn't yet into it. Does our obedience change the person next to us? Maybe.. maybe not, but it isn't our job to change that person. It's our job to obey, and let God give the increase, or do the changing. Perhaps it's by leading a class or loving our family or treating an undeserving person with more respect than we, in our human nature, believe they deserve. It is our job to obey. Even our best efforts no doubt look messy at best in light of eternity, but God will bless our obedience, and "straighten things out" and reward our efforts. That is his job. He will make things look better when we submit to His ways. We can watch for a bright, uncluttered outlook and count on His increase.

Written by
Melody Foster

HSBC Coffeebreak

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Psalm 32:8

This summer we took a camping trip with some friends. These friends brought along their dog, Jake, who was in the process of being trained to retrieve. I watched in amusement as Jake would bring his toy for someone to throw and then bound away in excitement as soon as it was thrown. Of course, in his enthusiasm, he would forget to watch where it would land. Then began the process of directing him to the proper location.

Our friends would give him verbal instructions and hand cues. With typical puppy exuberance, he would occasionally look at everyone watching and then with ears perked, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and a sparkle in his eyes, he would ignore the commands and run energetically around the field in search of his toy.

You see, Jake knew exactly what his objective was, but failed, in his enthusiasm and his focus on who was watching, to take the time to get instructions on how to complete the task.

Hmmm, strike a cord with anyone? I know it sure did with me! I have a goal- driven personality. I can be that exuberant and excited “puppy," putting my energy into serving God without spending time looking to Him for instruction along the way. I get so focused on accomplishing the goal I forget to seek God’s will on how I should get there.

Next time I jump into a task, I’d like to think I’ll remember Jake and take more time looking to God for His direction.

Written by
Michele Chard