DEVOTIONAL STORIES
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I am a “flip side of the coin” kind of person. When I am faced with a problem, I think of all the solutions that I possibly can. Then, I turn the solutions over, and think of all the reasons why those solutions might not work. “But, what about this? And this?” I ask. And if anything is left standing in the end, well, there you have it! The perfect, all-bases-covered answer. Unfortunately, I have been known to frustrate other folks with my completeness. I'm sure I approach God with the same kind of thorough, look-at-all-the-angles kind of investigation. Rather than trusting Him when He tells me, “You will succeed,” I remind Him, “But here’s why I could fail.” Rather than enjoying His provision for today, I ask, “But what about tomorrow?” Psalm 78 talks about the Israelites having the same problem while they wandered in the desert. “But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths, God’s anger rose against them…” (vs. 30-31a). Time and again, the Israelites cried out to God because of their stubborn flip-side-of-the-coin lack of trust. “I’m full today,” they would say, “but what about tomorrow?” “In spite of all of this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe” (vs. 32). It didn’t get any better when Jesus Himself was walking on the earth. Not long after He had miraculously fed over five thousand people with a lunch of bread and fish borrowed from a little boy, some of the people were asking Him how they, too, could do the works of God. When Jesus said that believing was doing the work of God, they asked, “What miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” (see John 6:1-15, 25-31.) What will He do? They had just eaten a miraculous lunch! What else did He need to do? And are we any better today? “I saw you pay that bill when I didn’t know where the money was coming from, but what about next month? I saw you fix my car, but it’s making another noise. I saw you reach into the pit and save that person, but what about the one over in the corner that looks too far gone?” When we read the verse in which Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, because today has enough of its own troubles (Matthew 6:34), I think we often concentrate more on the trouble than the trust. They are two sides of the same coin, the heads and tails of everyday life, but life wasn't meant to be a coin toss.  Yes, failure is a possibility on the road to success. Yes, want is a possibility on the road to abundance. Yes, weakness is a possibility on the road to strength. But, how about we flip the coin and look at the other side? Success is a possibility after failure. Abundance is a possibility after want. Strength is a possibility after weakness. It’s all in how you look at it, and Who you are looking at. ©2014 Wendi Miller Find Source Information KEEP READING
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