How Are You Doing Today? Devotional

How are you Doing Today?

Cloudy

 How are you doing today?

If someone asks you this oft asked question, what do you answer? "OK." "Fine, thank you." Or perhaps, "I'm doing alright."

Your answer may be perfectly true, or perhaps not. In all honesty, and I realize that this may sound a bit dramatic, most of us are not actually doing that well. Life for most of us consists of a rather complicated arrangement of circumstances. Of course, we do grow accustomed to them, and may not even think about them overly much as we go about our busy days, but our background problems do not just go away.

Many of us end up living  with less than ideal circumstances for much of our lives, or even until our passing. Pretty negative and gloomy sounding isn't it?

I'm thinking now of the failed marriage that never comes right. The adult child who never seems to flourish and move on. The health problem that has no cure, and poisonous people who steal your peace and remain in your life. Then there are the abusive people, the unbelievers in your family, the job that you have to keep plodding away at to put bread on the table, the continuing financial battles. You get the picture I'm sure. After all, you have your own unique set of trying circumstances. Most of us do.

How often I have prayed that God would remove the difficult, hard things from my life and replace them with ease and comfort. I have often yearned for things to just be a little easier somehow. And so often, God has worked miracles, moved my mountains and showered me with blessings. He is a loving Father. And because He is a loving Father, He sometimes says "Wait." Or "Not yet." Or "Not now." That can hurt, can't it? We have been waiting, suffering, struggling, for so long, and now we must go on, seemingly without answer or relief. Wait. May I quote a well-known verse? I trust that it will be balm to your spirit as you read it again:

(Paul speaking)

"Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked Him to take it away. But His answer was: ""My grace is all you  need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12: 8-10

Dear Reader,

may I ask you once more, how are you doing today?

***

Love and prayers,

Alison

Scripture quotation from: The Good News Bible, Today's English Version, Anglicised text.

(I normally read the Amplified Version as well as other versions. The Good News Version is not my favourite. However, I now own my late mother's Bible, which is a Good News Bible, and it has meant so much to me to be able to spend some time in it. My  recomendation is that one should make use of several different reliable  versions for study purposes.)