disappointments

In my journey through the problem of evil and disappointment that life isn't better than it is, I received this devotion recently and it really blessed me.  I find it often helps me when I learn that someone else understands my pain or my circumstances.  That someone else has gone through these things as well.  I know I am not alone and what's more, I'm even in good company.
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DisappointmentsTGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
12-06-2012
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13:12

Life is filled with disappointments. Many of God's greatest servants experienced deep disappointment in their journeys of faithfulness to God. Joseph, after spending years as a slave and in jail for crimes that he did not commit, revealed deep disappointment when he was forgotten another two years in prison. John the Baptist, when awaiting execution, doubted whether Jesus was, in fact, the Christ because he was sitting there awaiting his death. Elijah, losing all hope and despondent to the point of death, asked God to take his life in the desert; and Peter, who left his fishing business and invested three years of his life only to watch his Savior crucified, wondered whether the purpose of those three years could be justified.

When life doesn't add up, it leaves the heart sick. When we have done all we know to do and the formula has not worked, it leaves us questioning. These are times that try the very souls of men. There is no human sense to be made of it. We are left with a choice: to cling or not to cling. There are times when holding on to our Master's robe is all that we can do. It is all that He wants us to do.

The heights by great men reached and kept

Were not obtained by sudden flight;

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.

Standing on what too long we bore,

With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,

We may discern-unseen before-

A path to higher destinies!

~Longfellow

There is only one answer to life's disappointments. Like the psalmist, we must "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken" (Ps. 62:5-6).

This is one of the few email devotions I read regularly.  Os always has something worth sharing and he blesses me almost daily.
http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/tgif/

Using Jerry Springer to Preach Christ

This is the only email devotional I receive these days and most days I read it.  I love that Os starts with a prayer and how often that prayer puts me in the place I need to be or speaks to where I am. 

Taken from:  TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman

Today's Prayer God, I know that Jesus had a special place in His heart for the poor. He said that the poor would always be among us. How can I use my gifts and talents to help the poor in my community? Please lead me and show me the best way to bless them and meet their needs in your name, that I might also point them to You.

Using Jerry Springer to Preach Christ
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
12-08-2011"On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners'" (Matt 9:12-13).
 
Linda Rios Brook is a businesswoman who desires to impact the culture with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Linda lives on the front lines of the fast-paced world of business. A former President and General Manager of a network television affiliate in Minneapolis, Linda resigned her position after making comments about her faith in her local newspaper; which subsequently resulted in a company policy which precluded officers and managers from publicly identifying with a specific faith.
Linda was approached by a Christian foundation with the opportunity to purchase a television station in her local market. The idea of managing a "religious" television station did not appeal to her in the least because she knew that such a format would not sustain a for profit business model.
After losing hundreds of thousands of dollars every month in attempting to attract a "Christian audience" she realized that the station could not survive without a more mainstream programming lineup. An opportunity arose to get the Rush Limbaugh program from a competitor, but only if she also took "The Jerry Springer Show." Linda struggled with what to do with this program, knowing the religious community would criticize this decision. Then, the Lord gave her an idea.
She decided to place a rolling statement across the bottom of the page that said, "Need a friend? Call 555-5555." She decided to use the Jerry Springer Show as bait for ministering to those who might be watching the program, who she concluded represented a ripe field for the gospel. Her insight proved true. The phones began to ring off the hook and many came to Christ as a result.
Sometimes we need to get out of our religious boxes and see how we can impact the culture using even the most negative influences in our culture to do it.