Devotions with Pastor Marty DeVader

Do you ever feel like your life is in a rut? It’s as though everything you do is wrong, that it fails and there seems to be nothing you can do right? We continue as a church family to witness the loss of life sending us all into mourning for those who are close to the deceased. We have witnessed as a nation the change in leadership only to see what one would consider as evil come into power in our nation. It seems as though all we have known throughout our lives has disappeared leaving us with a hollow sense of hopelessness.
Growing up on a farm outside of Holton I grew up helping my Dad on the farm. One winter was particularly hard and feeding those cattle became a daunting task for sure. It would snow, then warm up, then freeze and melt some more. Everyday we drove the four wheel drive truck into the field to feed those cattle, they had to be fed. Everyday in the mud mixed with melting snow we made ruts, ruts that got so deep we would drag the bottom of the truck. It was no fun but it was something we had to go through and I have never forgotten that lesson of perseverance.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
It is a testing of faith for all of us right now, but remember we follow the Lord and not the world. It is a concern for us as we wonder what may lie ahead for us as a nation. For when you turn on the news, all that is wrong is right and all that is right is now wrong? For some I know this world has become almost unbearable. When life gets this way we continue to seek the Father, and the worries seem less instead of more. Let us be like Paul who endured many hardships in his many journeys and follow Christ.
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 12:10
It is only through Christ do we have the strength to push forward, we must be on our knees crying out to the only one who can help us.
Going back to the cattle story, we did not lose one that year. We had a calf born early that we had to carry out to safety, spring came and things got better. Those cattle I am sure were happy to be taken care of for they relied on us to take care of them. We rely upon the Lord and in turn take care of each other.
The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

Have an amazing day! Marty