Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

I was in the kitchen with my two year old grandson making cookies. Things were not going smoothly. I dropped an opened box of baking soda over the top of the stove and onto the floor. Then after cleaning that up, I stubbed my toe on a chair.

When I stubbed my toe, my grandson asked, “Are you okay Papa?” I said, “No!” He repeated the question, “Are you okay Papa?” I repeated my response, “No!” After the third repetition of this dialogue, I realized that unless I said yes to his question, he would keep asking till I gave the answer he wanted. He seemed determined that I should be okay, as that was just the way it should be.

I think I also have this deep conviction inside that things should be okay. Just like my two year old grandson I find it hard to accept it when things are not okay with me or others. I want life to be okay! Life should be like math where 2 + 2 always equals 4.

Sometimes the math does not work. People have accidents, they get sick, do really bad things, hurt others and themselves.   I want life to be okay but when it is not, I am much happier if I can accept the truth with an attitude of anticipation encouraged by Saint James.

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4 The Message).

** An article about trusting God in difficulty.

Questions: Do you trust God in times of difficulty?  What steps do you need to take in order to be able to trust God for greater things?

About the Author Mike Woodard

Check out the new CWT site and let us know what you think!

“…for His name’s sake your sins were forgiven” (1 John 2:12).

We were flying to a conference. I was in the middle seat – certainly not my choice – but my husband and I have an agreement that if a woman is sitting by the window, I sit in the middle, if a man is in the seat by the window, Marvin sits in the middle.

Barely was I settled, when I discerned that the young woman sitting next to me was very sad and deep in thought. Making conversation, I asked her where she was from, where she was going and what she did.

She was a student and had been attending university in Poland – the homeland of her father. Then she told me sadly that her father had died. She had chosen to attend college in Poland against her father’s wishes and they hadn’t forgiven each other before he died.

She seemed so sad and I recognized a deeper issue. I asked her if she had forgiven herself for not complying with her father’s wishes. She answered that she couldn’t forgive herself and felt so guilty. Slowly, I began to tell her about God’s love and forgiveness. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, her sins were forgiven and guilt was removed. I encouraged her to believe that because God had forgiven her, she could forgive herself no matter how awful she thought she had been. As I spoke, I prayed and my husband prayed.

I told her about something I had done as a teenager for which I had felt guilty about for many years. How I had come to the place where I was faced with the choice of forgiving myself because Christ had already forgiven me or I could continue feeling guilty the rest of my life. I had chosen to forgive myself.

The light in her eyes went on. She began to understand she was totally forgiven and could forgive herself. She could be free and happy. “God meant for you to sit with me today, she told me at the end of the flight.

How about you? Is there something in your life for which you feel guilty? You don’t need to. Simply accept God’s love and forgiveness.

Father, thank You that Jesus Christ took our sin and guilt upon Himself at the cross. Thank You for setting us free. Thank You for Your love. Amen.

Questions: Can you think of a situation in your life that you need to forgive yourself for? How can one deal with one’s guilt feelings from the past?

About the author Katherine Kehler

I am not by nature a people person. I grew up in the country as an only child who loved walking alone in the fields surrounding our home, or reading under the over hanging branches of a cedar tree that grew on the one windowless side of our house. (My mother couldn’t see me there!) Even today my favorite times are like the ones experienced as I write these words—sitting at a small, scarred wooden table in my favorite café, looking out the paned window at sporadic traffic soundlessly passing by. The café owners are generous toward moles like me—their nearby kitchen conversations are muted and they keep my coffee cup filled.

So what am I doing in a life that is normally filled with people—with teaching, organizing, counseling? A life far removed from meandering through fields or sequestered under pine boughs?

A night over 50 years ago is burned into my memory. It was the night I felt God saying “…so send I you.” The years since that night have been saturated with challenge, joy, sorrow, adventure and fulfillment. At times I have complained, insisting that I am not only inadequate for His task but I just plain do not like the path He has chosen. But the one who called has gone with me, refreshed, encouraged and taught me. How tragic it would have been to insist only on walking in fields and sitting under trees.

Thank you for your patience with me, Father, and for choosing me to be your servant.

Questions: How has God called you in the past? What new paths is He calling you to?

About the Author Marilyn Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Sacred and Profane, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

I am a mother, a wife and a daughter. At times I am a counselor, a listening ear, or a cheerleader. Most importantly, however, I am a prayer warrior who chooses to battle on her knees.

Praying on bended knee is an act of stillness, of submission and trust, for no amount of running interference, offering advice or encouragement will orchestrate the ideal situation.

My son, I was there when you wrestled with polynomials. Shaking your fists in the air, vowing never to take a math related job, I suppressed a smile. Good luck, for math is all encompassing.

My son, I wasn’t there the moment you cracked the code of math. But I was there for future “aha” moments that boosted your confidence.

Mom, I was there when you struggled with the emotional effects of cancer, succumbing to depression and quarreling with the one who stood by your side for forty-two years.

Mom, I wasn’t there when you and dad finally agreed to work as a team, but I was there to witness the respect, trust and love that was forty-two years in the making.

My cherished husband, I was there when your faith seemed to lose its edge. The zealousness diminished somewhat and the hunger seemed to abate. My heart ached as you wandered this journey alone, restless.  I could not fill that void.

My cherished husband, I wasn’t there the day you met the “iron man.” This new friend, a man with solid Christian values, was divinely appointed to cross your path. He is not only an encourager, but has also been encouraged by you. Your friendship is the essence of “iron sharpens iron.”

My youngest son, I was there when you confided of fair weather friends and endured the taunting of those so-called friends because they didn’t have the courage to stand on their own two feet.

My youngest son, I wasn’t there the day you found a reliable, encouraging group of friends at school. But I was there to hear the tales of school fun and camaraderie.

I have trusted God for my salvation; surely I can also trust Him with my prayers for my family in their individual struggles of faith and relationships. I love them enough to let go and give them to God.

I will not always be there. But God will be.

Heavenly Father, You have called us to encourage one another and offer Godly advice. Yet may we also remember that You alone are the source and the solution. May we love enough to let go, thereby inviting You wholeheartedly to have Your Sovereign way.

Question: What or whom do you need to let go and give to God?

About the Author Charlene Friesen