Passage of the Day:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins, 2 Peter 1:3-9.
Reflection:
Anyone can expect great things to happen when your life is filled with countless blessings. However, the moment you hit a rough patch in life filled with disappointment, failure and trials, your faith is put to the test, 1 Peter 1:6-7. This is when you have to dig deep, recalling all of the former instances in your past when God has lifted you up from the depths of despair and depression. This is Jesus’ call to action to his disciples in the below passage.
Prayerful Action:
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” Matthew 19:25-26.
Retracing Your Steps:
When I was sixteen, a doctor at A.I. Dupont’s Childrens Hospital told me that my athletic career was over. After running the final mile of a cross country meet with a sprained ankle, I torn all of my tendons in my left ankle as the bone in my leg was twisted 180 degrees in the wrong direction. From a purely scientific perspective, this doctor was correct. However, when my friends from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes laid hands upon me before exiting Concord before my surgery, something supernatural was about to occur. Four months later, I was standing on the podium at the University of Delaware’s Natatorium receiving a bronze medal for the 200 Individual Medley Team Relay. A scar on my left ankle in the shape of a J provides me of a daily reminder that God has done and can-do great things in my life.
Song of the Day:
Final Thoughts:
The attached song gave me the strength to press on when my wife’s mom passed away in 2022. May the words of I Choose to Believe serve as a daily prayer to help you live with the mindset to expect God to do great things in your life.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 