No Buts About It!

Question to think about: Is it possible to trust without reserve?

For those that follow the news of the day . . . the world's economy is down. Depressing . . . down right depressing . . . BUT . . . the thing is . . . the news leaves out the presence of God and what God is doing in our midst . . . there is more to the story . . . God is present . . . God is working . . . God is in control. Most of us could fill in the blank without much thinking: It would be easier to believe God is at work if __________.

The work of God changes the way we live. One man experienced a miracle when he encountered Christ:
. . . BUT this miracle happened on the Sabbath day. (John 5:9b)
Even though a miracle occurred . . . the word, "but," alerts the reader that there is something that isn't quite right.

The ancient world recognized that the Jewish people observed the Sabbath. The people were to rest on the Sabbath; it was considered a holy day. Just as a portion of their earnings were to be reserved for God, so was a portion of their time to be reserved for God. The time reserved was a sign of their covenantal relationship made with God.

BUT, many of the religious leaders had lost sight of the meaning of Sabbath. They spent an inordinate amount of time interpreting what was or was not appropriate for Sabbath. Their top priority centered on the rules rather than their relationship with God.

So . . . Christ, God with us, healed a man on the Sabbath. The religious leaders focused on what they thought was important rather than what God did.


Before, we gang up on the religious leaders of the day . . . don't we do the same thing? If, God does not do what we think is important . . . we often think something is wrong. Could it be that our top priority is not always about a relationship with God . . . but . . . about getting what we want?

In these difficult times we need to focus on our relationship with God, completely trusting God to be present and at work . . . no BUTs about it!
Learning with you to trust without reserve,
Shalom,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2008 All Rights Reserved)