Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

With the nation seeing spikes in COVID again, how we deal with them is very passionately discussed in the media these days. There are a lot of opinions but not a single one is without consequences. In those potential consequences there is a lot of fear and anxiety. Paul wrote to the Romans about what living for Jesus meant, as well as the practical implications of living that way. On this he wrote, “There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” Despite the many things that have seemed to go wrong in 2020, looking for things to praise instead of things to complain about will bring overwhelming blessings to our lives. Today, praise the Lord for what has gone right this year, for the blessings you still have, and pray expectantly for His work to be done for all of us.

“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” – Romans 5:3-5 MSG