Daily Devotional For Monday, March 25, 2024
Well, it is magnificent Monday. Are you ready for it? I hope so. Look at Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (ESV). It’s a brand new day and a brand new week. Whatever has happened is now in the past and there is not much you can do about it. If there was failure, well, sulking and beating yourself up can only go so far until it totally immobilizes you from doing anything.
The Apostle Paul was very much aware of his life as Saul — the personal assassin and destructor of Christians and the Christian faith. After he came to Christ, there was nothing he could do to undo what his old and former life led him to do. But as a Christian, here is how he chose to look at it in Philippians 3:13-14:
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (ESV).
We all make mistakes, sometimes that is very costly. We all sin horribly — something that breaks the heart of God. Regret is something we need, but long-term regret can destroy you. The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (ESV). God removes the guilt of our sin, but not the consequences of our sins. He forces us to live with those consequences so that we will learn from them. So, repent from your sins. Learn from your sins and then as the Apostle Paul, move forward from the consequences of your sin just as the Apostle did with his.
Years ago this poem came out I would like to share with you titled, “Don’t Quit” by Edgar Allen Guest:
“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst, you must not quit.”
All of us are aware of the war going on between Russian and Ukraine. At times this war has spilled over to other countries as rogue missiles go off their targets. Here is a story from Christmas about how Christians over there are dealing with it:
“Christians behind the Iron Curtain in Ukraine and Serbia celebrated Christmas. I was touched when I read a little article about Christmas Day in Sarejevo. The awful warfare was all around them despite promise after promise of a cease-fire. The airport was closed. More than a dozen civilians had already been killed when the article was written. Shelling the residential sections of the city, the Serbian army, just to break morale, caused havoc on Christmas Day.
One reporter was downtown when the horrid sounds of indiscriminate shelling died down. And he said, "I suddenly was arrested because from several directions, from several churches, I heard people singing Christmas carols." Friends, that's the spirit it's going to take in the future for Christianity in this nation. Trust in God and don't quit” (Source: W. Frank Harrington, "When You Really Want to Quit," Preaching Today, Tape No. 138).
That reporter is right. Trust in God and don’t quit. Do matter your mistakes — don’t quit and trust God. No matter your sins — don’t quit and trust God. No matter your mood — don’t quit and trust God. No matter the opinions of others — don’t quit and trust God.
Everything we do has risks. Just when you think you have covered all the bases, someone will show you a base they think you missed. Maybe they are right and maybe they are wrong. People quit all the time in their marriages, on God, on churches, going to school, on their kids, on their quiet time with God, on their jobs and careers and etc. Don’t quit. Japanese Marathon runner Shinzo Kanakuri didn’t quit:
“Japanese Marathon Runner Shizo Kanakuri competed in the domestic qualifying trials for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Kanakuri set a marathon world record and was selected as one of the only two athletes that Japan could afford to send to the event that year.
However, Kanakuri shockingly disappeared during the 1912 Olympic marathon race. He had had a rough 18-day-long trip to Stockholm, first by ship and then by train all through the Trans-Siberian Railway, and needed five days to recover for the race. Kanakuri, weakened by the long journey from Japan, lost consciousness midway through the race, and was cared for by a local family. Being embarrassed from his "failure" he returned to Japan without notifying race officials.
Swedish authorities considered him missing for 50 years before discovering that he was living in Japan. In 1967, he was offered the opportunity to complete his run. He accepted and completed the marathon in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds, remarking, "It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children and 10 grandchildren” (Source: “Shizo Kanakuri,” Wikipedia (Accessed 6/19/21).
The Bible is full of stories of people who quit and later finished. Moses quit on God for 40 years until God helped him finish starting at 80-years-old.Peter quit after Jesus died and went back to fishing and Jesus helped him finish. Sampson quit and God helped him finish. John Mark quit and Paul helped him finish. Shinzo Kanakuri quit his marathon and then 50 years later finished it. Don’t quit — trust God.
Questions To Consider
- Have you ever quit something that you wish you had finished or seen to the end? A Job? A project? An assignment? A marriage? Why did you quit and what were the results?
- Have you ever like Japanese Marathon Runner Shizo Kanakuri gone back tofinish it? If so, what motivated you to finish it later and what were the results?
- Jesus said this to a man in Luke 9:62, "Jesus said to him, `No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” (ESV). Now the context of Jesus’ comment was to several people who wanted to follow Him but FIRST wanted to do something else first. The point is this: whatever you do, remember, you’re doing for the kingdom of God. So, don’t quit. Finish it. What is something you have been procrastinating on finishing? Why? What will it take for you to finish it?
- “Maud Muller” by John Greenleaf Whittier is a classic narrative ballad that recounts how the poor peasant, Maud, and an urban judge fantasize about getting married and living their lives together as husband and wife. However, neither of them ever takes action, which fills their lives with regret.
God pity them both and pity us all, Who vainly the dreams of youth recall. For of all sad words of tongue or pen,The saddest are these: “It might have been!” (Source: https://poemanalysis.com/emotions/regret/).
Is there anything in your life today you at times still think, “It might have been!” If it is, give it to Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on the cross, one of His statements was, “It is finished” (John 19:30, ESV). Jesus Christ was and is a finisher. He has an individualized purpose for you. Do you know what His purpose is for you? If you do not, take Class 301 that I teach at church. I’ll be thrilled to help you discover it. Will you take it? Will you venture to stop putting off learning God’s purpose for your life? Pray to Him and ask Him to help you finish His purpose for you.
Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 3:13b-14, “. . . . but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,(14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (ESV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I want to finish this race called discipleship and becoming more and more like You every single day of my life. Please forgive me when I let other things interfere that in my mind at the time, seem more important or more pressing. Lord here are the regrets I have over thing I have not finished [start naming them to the Lord]. Jesus, there are times I beat myself up from these regrets because I am looking back rather than looking forward. Help me to keep my eyes on You and Your future for me.
I love you Southside! -- Pastor Kelly