Quote from Forum Archives on April 1, 2009, 12:31 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
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The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 353 new subscribers since January 1, 2009!!

04.01.09

In God We Trust

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28.

.And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech,
Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took
wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of
the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and
Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. -
Ruth 1:2b-5.

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the
Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi,
" Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close
relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!" - Ruth 4:13-14.

The admissions director at the University of California at San Diego made a
big mistake when she welcomed by email 29,000 or so applicants who had
actually been rejected. The welcome email was only intended to be sent to
those students who had actually been accepted by the University. Can you
imagine the confusion of the students who received the email congratulating
them on their acceptance and then receiving a second email stating their
rejection?

It is often difficult to handle rejection; however, those students turned
down by UCSD may find a better path for their lives as a result. About 12
years ago I was a bi-vocational pastor searching for that second vocation to
be able to survive financially. I had a job interview for employment for a
very similar position to the one I had held in the past. I was very hopeful
that I would be employed. I fasted and prayed for more than a week about
this job and I received confirmation from the Lord that He had heard my
prayers. However, I was not hired, but at the same time I was encouraged
knowing that this was apparently God's will for my life. The bi-vocational
pastorate turned out to be more full-time than part - time, although I did
some substitute teaching which I enjoyed. With 12 years of life experience
since the rejection of my job application I am thankful that I was rejected.
I am thankful because I would not be writing these devotionals if I had been
hired for that position. I am also thankful because I know that God
protected me from going down the wrong path with my life.

There are more difficult things that can happen to us in life than being
rejected by a college or not getting the job that we wanted. Naomi and Ruth
experienced one of those more difficult things, their husbands died. Even
though this terrible thing happened in the lives of both women Naomi was
faithful to the Lord and Ruth followed her mother-in-law's example. As a
result Ruth is in the human genealogy of our Lord Jesus, and she became the
great-grandmother of King David. Although God did not cause the tragedies to
happen, He surely brought good out of the death of their husbands. He
brought good out of it as Naomi and Ruth faithfully followed the will of God
for their lives step by step, day by day.

In my own family, my great-grandfather's first wife passed away soon after
their only child, a daughter was born. He then married a woman whose first
husband had died. I know that my great-grandmother was a godly woman who had
much influence for good upon her family. One of her sons, my grandfather,
his first wife (my grandmother) passed away before I was born. He then
married a godly woman whose example and prayers are still impacting my life.

When the bad things happen in our lives we are encouraged to remain
faithful. In 1 Corinthians 15:58 the apostle Paul encourages us with these
words, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord." "In God We Trust" is not just a motto; it is God's will for our
lives in good times and in bad times. Trusting in God is always the
eternally right decision.

Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. 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.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi, Cody, and Mica who are young boys
with cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they
will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
in need of prayer - please pray for me. Pray for my voice since I continue
to have problems with it.).

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Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
www.kkbifm.com/

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