Critics and Believers



Today I was doing some work on the computer that involved combining a large amount of text together. Everything was going well I thought, until suddenly a gray box popped up on the screen and said:



There are too many spelling and grammatical errors in this document for Microsoft Word to continue displaying them. Spellcheck and grammar check have ceased.



It was a busy day, with a lot going on, and the work I was doing was important. So I ignored it and continued. I wrote a little more, moved some text around, and hit enter, saving it under another name. Everything was fine.



I wrote a few more words and there it was again.



Now I wanted to talk to the PC, man to machine. Something like...



"Excuse me? Am I being insulted by a machine? Is what you are saying that I am hopeless, that I will never get it right, and so there's no point in your continuing?"



But I just saved it to yet another name and continued doing what I was doing. Everything good so far.



I hit enter.



The message popped up again. Microsoft had given up on me.



Aren't you glad God isn't like that?



Everybody's your friend when life is good, when your work is praised, when there's money in the bank and all your kids are doing great. When you are doing the right things right - life's a cinch.



But what happens when trouble comes? Whether you had a hand in it, or not - trouble is trouble. The Bible never leads us on by helping us pretend trouble isn't part of life.





Psalm 34:19 (Msg)

Disciples so often get into trouble;

still, God is there every time.



But the Bible also never ceases to remind us we never go through trouble alone.



God is with us. Every time. He never gives up on us.



Psalm 91:14 (Msg)

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,

"I'll get you out of any trouble.

I'll give you the best of care

if you'll only get to know and trust me.



But to really make progress, you've got to put your trust in someone other than yourself, in something other than your own skills, your own abilities. You've got to learn to trust God. He believes in you, now focus your attention on believing in Him and living for Him.



Grace!



David



This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.