Friday 16 Dec 2022

December 16: Matthew 18:6-9

Key Verse: Matthew 18:7
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

Devotion:
One of the hardest things to accept in life is disappointment or hardship. Nobody wants to endure either of these things and yet we all do face at least one at some stage in our lives. It is no consolation to know that everyone will face one or more problems in their lives which they feel they will not be able to get past or over, but it is the truth. No matter how much we try to steer clear of the bad things in life, they seem to find us.

It is not because we deserve bad things to happen to us for the bad things we have done. It is not that we get punished by God for the evil in our lives. God would rather see us enjoying our lives and living a life which is filled with love and support. One only has to take a look at Job’s life and see how happy God was when things were going well.

What happened to Job? It was the evil one who brought bad things into Jobs life! It was the world around him, and his friends, which caused him heart-ache and even hardship. You see, we all live in this world together and things happen in this world because of our interaction between each other and with good and bad. So many people choose the evil and bad things because they think they will be able to control them and win in some way…

God wants us to see the truth and to be able to live righteous lives with Him at the centre. God wants to be able to reward us for all things in our lives – which means we should stay close to Him so He can reward us. If we are too busy running off in the wrong direction, it gets easier for evil to win through… God is watching every interaction and will make sure the good things get good rewards!

Points to Ponder:
Are you trying to balance good and evil?

Have you noticed how slippery evil is yet?