NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Having Heart In A Sometimes Heartless World Day 42 - Week at a glance Scripture focus: . . ."I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:33-34 NIV Just because we honor God with what we say and where we spend our Sunday mornings does not mean that we are drawing near to God. How we suffer - whether cyclically or productively - is an indicator of whether we are in intimate relationship with God or simply going through the motions. Suffering happens. What is crucial to remember in the midst of any season of suffering is this: God sees our misery, hears our cries for relief, responds and rescues - in the way he sees fit. There is a God - we did not get the job. Productive suffering requires that we acknowledge God's authority in all things. He will respond in his time, in his way, in keeping with his prevailing purposes. We follow his lead, not vice versa. Anytime our lives do not reflect God's prevailing purposes - we're a cracked pot. We're marred. And that's bad - but not the end of the story. God will take us and throw us back on the wheel. He'll form us into another pot, shaping us as he sees fit. He'll turn us into a water pitcher or an ashtray, a decorative bowl or a serving dish - as he sees fit. Surrendering to the reality of our "cracked-potted-ness" informs how we suffer. It requires that we humble ourselves to the process. Spinning around on that potter's wheel may leave us dizzy and a bit seasick. But it's part of the process. The first step to productive suffering is getting honest about everything with God. He is big, he can handle it. Sometimes I think believers hate to name a problem because they fear what others will think of their God. God's reputation doesn't need our protection. Again, sometimes we not only deny the existence of problems but we minimize their magnitude as well. Neither denial or minimization is God honoring. Both are defenses that can serve a purpose; they are understandable. But neither is indicative of productive suffering. Our problems are absolutely no reflection on God. They are not saying that God is unfaithful. God is big. He hears our cries of suffering, responds and rescues. He rescues the weary and the faint of heart. Crying out to God honestly is a good thing. This completes the first forty-five steps of your 365 step journey; I pray you are nearer to God as a result of the steps you've taken this week. Recommended reading: Exodus 32 and 33 in the morning; Psalm 33 in the evening Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 TNIV Click "Comments" Below to Join the Discussion Scroll down to the Archive Section to View Previous Devotionals.