Daily devotional, June 8, 2024 Two kinds of people that bring you closer to God
“You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”
Psalm 30:12
Once you turn 35 and amass experiences in dealing with different kinds of people, you would know that there are two kinds of persons that bring you closer to God. The first type are those who intentionally bring you close to Jesus, by sharing the gospel with you, encouraging you to read the bible, teach you biblical truths, and help you grow in your faith.
These are the people worth keeping in your life, and worth journeying with in our earthly existence. They are heaven’s gifts, and are meant to be emulated as we pay the grace forward to others who need to meet Jesus.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who fallsand has no one to help them up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
The other type of person that brings us closer to God are those that hurt us. Of course, they do not deliberately hurt us to push us towards God, but unintentionally that is the result of their actions towards us.
Most of the time these people are those whom we know so well. Well enough to betray us. Just like what happened to a man named Joseph in the Old Testament, who was sold by his brothers into slavery. A lot of unfortunate things happened to him after that, but still He kept this faith in God. When the time came that his bad siblings needed his help, he forgave and helped them.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Genesis 50:20
In his heart, Joseph knew that his pain had a purpose. He was sold into slavery so that he could be the Prime Minister of Egypt and save his entire clan from the famine in their homeland.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
As we go through our life journey we meet people who cause us pain and suffering. And while it is easy to get angry at them too, the best thing to do is to surrender our ill feelings to the Lord.
"'It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.' The LORD will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free." Deuteronomy 32:35-36
A good example of total surrender to the Lord is what King David before his reign. As he was being hunted by incumbent King Saul, David continued to praise God, and ask for His guidance and help. Hiding in caves and running as a fugitive, He wrote some of the most profound Psalms in praise prayer to our one true God. He may have feared for His life but His faith in God’s promises did not wane, and each of King Saul’s actions towards Him just made Him seek the Lord more.
"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,till the storms of destruction pass by."
Psalm 57:1
When we decide to come to Jesus for the pain that we are suffering, we either get the chance to know Him if we haven’t surrendered our lives to Him yet, or if we are His follower already, we could get to grow even more closer to Him. We will get to decode His will for us, and determine the purpose for our pain.
After all, for our Heavenly Father, none of our tears are ever wasted, because whatever suffering we endure has a purpose in His overall plan for our lives.
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
1 Peter 5:10
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 13 and Isaiah 43:1-7 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Have you thanked the people that led you closer to God?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing people who lead me closer to you. Whether they have caused me great joy by sharing your truths with me, or have caused me immense pain, I know that their presence in my life is part of your overall plan for me. Please use me as well to happily bring people closer to you too. Amen.
