Devotions
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PAIN OF A SPLINTER
Have you ever had a teeny tiny splinter in your foot; so small a splinter you can hardly see it? And yet when you try to remove it, it can be enough to make a grown man wince with pain or even cry. I recall when my daughter had a little sticker in her foot that needed to be removed. She would scream and yell at the top of her voice; even before you touched her foot. She yelled so loud that a close friend four houses away heard her screaming and came running to see what was wrong. To this day both of my daughters will cringe and say NO, if I offer to remove a splinter or sticker from their foot or hand, because they know I will complete the task (I can dig it). I’m so thankful that Christ completed the task for us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) His sufferings were much greater than just a mere splinter, but rather from a spear and old crude nails which left their evidence as Christ urged Thomas to “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20:27) Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. (2 Corinthians 1:6) Just as you and I face irritations in life that poke and jab at our flesh, our spirit, our will to do what is right, Paul faced the same issues of which he called them “a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” So, when we suffer from the splinters of life, may way we place our faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior, our Lord, and the one who holds the tweezers to both remove the splinters of life from us, and or remove us from the splinters of life into his eternal kingdom. But, in the interim, may we face each situation with the affirmation of Paul: Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Yours in Christ, Rev. Jerry Schmid
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AuthorNotes from the Staff @The Woods Archives
March 2023
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