BBD 02.12.18 Don't Lose Heart (New)
Posted by: wrathered <wrathered@...>
Since June 8th 1998, this is
the 1792st
The Burning Bush Devotional
12 February 2018
Don’t Lose Heart
And let us not grow weary while doing
good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we
have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the
household of faith. – Galatians 6:9-10 NKJV.
Then I said to them, “You see the
distress that we are in, how
Jerusalem lies waste, and its
gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that
we may no longer be a reproach.” – Nehemiah 2:17 NKJV.
Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh have a dream and that
is to sail the seas in their own sailboat. They sold everything they owned,
moved to Florida; and bought a 28 ft sailboat, and then spent a year making it
ready for the open waters. On their maiden voyage catastrophe struck. Tanner says, “We hit something in about
eight or nine feet of water and it stopped the boat completely.”
Whatever they hit, punched a hole in the hull, and the
boat began to sink. They quickly gathered all the personal items that they
could; from IDs to cash, and of course their Pug, Remy. At the same time, they
were calling for help. It took an hour for a ship to arrive, but the water was too
shallow for it to reach them. So, they had to swim out to the ship leaving
behind their boat. Nikki says, “Everything
I've worked for, everything I've owned since I was a child, I brought with me.
It's just floating away and there's nothing I can do.” Tanner and Nikki have very little money and no place to live, but still
they say they are not giving up on their dream. Nikki says, “Our boat sank, but our dreams
didn’t sink with the boat. We can’t just give up on our dreams.” (AJC dot com
02.10.18; Tampa Bay Times 02.11.18; WFTS Tampa Bay 02.09.18)
Whether we are following a dream, building a life, a
ministry, or a wall; at times it may look like there is no way forward. How do
you keep from losing heart? What do we do when everything collapses around us.
We can find some direction from Nehemiah as he faces down opposition to rebuild
the wall around Jerusalem.
When it seems, there is no way forward, don’t lose
heart, pray! When Nehemiah faced opposition from Sanballat and Tobiah and the
army of Samaria, Nehemiah prayed: Hear, O our God, for we are despised…
(Nehemiah 4:4a NKJV).”
The next direction we see from Nehemiah is to
stay focused: “So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to
half its height, for the people had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4:6 NKJV).” In spite of the threats and taunts from the
enemy, Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem proceeded to build the wall anyway.
The temptation when faced with a major setback or opposition is to give up, to
stop doing anything for the Lord. When your boat sinks, it is easy to give up.
When we encounter opposition to our dreams, when we lose a job, have a personal
disaster, or a health issue; it easy to stop serving, stop being faithful in
meeting with other believers. It is vitally important to keep on doing what you
know God wants you to do.
During these hard times it may be difficult to
get out of bed, to even believe it is possible to continue on. We live in a
world where bad things sometimes happen to good people; and our boat may sink,
or we may have a car wreck, or lose our job, or a sudden health issue, or
countless other things that life can bring our way. Instead, we are told by the
apostle Paul not to “grow weary”
in doing good; because if we continue on, we will reap a harvest. So, keep on doing
“good to all.”
So, when life seems to fall in upon you don’t
lose heart. Instead, pray! Stay faithful and focused, believing that God will
provide a way forward. God will fight for you and will honor your faithfulness
just as he did for Nehemiah. In 1 Peter 5:6-7 we are told this, “Therefore humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care
upon Him, for He cares for you.” Don’t lose heart! Continue on and God will lift you up at the right
time.
Copyright © 2018. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 20 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than
12,000 subscribers across the world.
The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM
The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk
Books now available at the Burning Bush website:
New Pastor's
Training Manual
Biblical Help for
Overcoming Substance Abuse
Biblical Help
for Overcoming Sexual Addictions In Times of
Trouble - Devotionals to Encourage and Strengthen You (Also available for
download on Amazon.)
You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.
Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at
the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page.
Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.
Please continue to pray for healing
for Pastor Shane Hall, Michelle Abetz, Thelma Lewis and her sister Denise
(Wesley Lewis that I have asked for prayer for died in a traffic accident
December 23rd and his wife and sister-in-law were severely injured –
another sister-in-law and her husband were also killed in the accident.),
Brandy, Damon D. & wife, Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Brent Baker, Gary Kirk,
Amy Carroll, Caleb Freeman, Toby, Glenn W., Diane H. and Jeanie.
Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. My
prayer focus is now that God will give me opportunities to preach. As the
apostle Paul says, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”).
You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105
If you enjoy the devotional please
recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.
You can help support this ministry
by using this link: http://www.paypal.me/EdWrather
Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.
You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org