I Had My Last Bad Day

I HAD MY LAST BAD DAY

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.  I Peter 1:8

         The quote, “You just had your last bad day!” is still getting a lot of attention. You remember it from a previous devotional?  I told the story of Mollie, our newly adopted golden retriever.  I shared how we rescued her from a shelter not long ago.  Just after Ron and I picked her up, I caressed her face and whispered to her, “You just had your last bad day!”

         This morning I woke up thinking about why this is touching so many.  I believe it’s because it is a fairy tale story.  Each one of us longs to experience what it’s like to be the object of such a beautiful rescue effort.  But the reality is, I already am. The good news of the Gospel is this:

• I’m not an orphan anymore.  Jesus gave his life to make sure I could come home to be adopted by His Father.
• I’m not unloved anymore.  There will not a moment when God will turn His face away from me.
• I’m not without hope ever again.  No matter what I face here, and no matter how hopeless things look, it’s an illusion.
• My soul is never at risk.  Though the body may decay, my soul only grows and prospers under the security of God’s wings.
• My future is written with indelible ink.  No matter what predictions of doom are spoken around me, none are true.  God is the author of my eternity.

         Faith embraces these realities.  The more I choose to believe them, the more joy I will experience.  Unbelief is always nipping at my heels, seeking to distort the truth of what I have in Christ.  If I cave to the lies, I live in abject poverty.

         What was it like the day Mollie came home?  She bounded out of the truck, ran into the house, and began to explore her new home.  We showed her every nook and cranny of the house.  Many corners were prepared just for her.  New bed, bones to welcome her, chew toys, balls sitting on a shelf in anticipation of the play times yet to come.  She sniffed them all, tail wagging.  Oh, if only I could fully grasp that I am a child of the kingdom and not an orphan of this world.  God, and His Word, provides the tour of my new and spacious living quarters.  There isn’t a day to dread.  It is all joy.  The curse on my life has been broken.

What riches are mine!  I haven’t begun to discover all the treasures of Your Kingdom.  Lead me unto all truth.  Amen

Journal Question:  Look again at the bulleted list above.  Which truth do you struggle to believe?  And, why?  Can you separate the picture the world paints in the circumstances of your life with the spiritual realities God says are yours, already, by faith?