Proven Character

September 2

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering

produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3, 4

Cody was a C- and D student in his freshman and sophomore years of high

school. The university he was applying to required a 2.8 GPA for enrollment.

His cumulative 2.4 wasn’t going to get him in. But someone had watched Cody

change over the past two years, and he believed in him. He wrote a letter to the

dean of admissions, enlightening him with regard to Cody’s accomplishments

and his 3.24 GPA in his final two years of school. 

He asked that the university take into consideration this change of behavior when 

determining whether this young man should be given an opportunity to prove himself 

at their institution.

To their credit, they allowed Cody to enroll at their branch campus, promising that 

a 2.8 GPA in his first year of studies would make him eligible for transfer to the main 

campus the following semester. 

To his credit, Cody carried a 3.1 GPA that first year and was allowed to transfer. He graduated with a 3.45 GPA, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a minor in criminal law.

h

Cody is reminiscent of those who for one reason or another have applied

themselves in their latter years. Sadly, many who make these positive changes

are never reaffirmed.

But unlike our peers, God doesn’t see us as unfit because we made poor

choices in our early years. He is pleased that the changes take place. Cody was

fortunate that someone saw the change taking place in him and believed it to

be genuine.

God also wants to champion our cause, to stand up for us in the face of

opposition. Abba Father wants us to know that He sees us. He knows the truth

and urges us to persevere by overcoming hopelessness. He wants us to know

and feel the satisfaction of positive change in our lives. He whispers, “It is pos-

sible to build character at any point during your life.” We need only choose to

believe and follow His lead.

Prayer

“Lord, please raise up advocates for those who are

genuinely trying to make a better life. Bind those who

would stand against them and restore hope to the

hearts of Your people. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Miles of Preparation

September 1

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will

carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

As he read the e-mail, he could actually picture the tears running down

his daughter’s face. In her freshman year at college, she was struggling with

separation anxiety. So was her daddy. Separated by two hundred miles, it felt

like ten thousand.

That first year marked the beginning of new levels of growth for the family.

Visits by both student and parents alike marked their progress. After a cou-

ple years of saying good-bye, they didn’t hang on to each other quite so long,

and the heartache was a little less intense. As the four years passed, there was

measurable growth. There were struggles and disappointments: Daddy would

undergo bypass surgery, and his daughter would begin to lean on the other man

in her life. Her boyfriend of four years would become her fiancé. They would

graduate with their bachelor’s degrees, return home, and as planned over the

past two years, get married. Then new levels of growth would bring new pain.

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There is pain attached to most meaningful growth. In childbirth, both mother

and child experience trauma. But that trauma gives way to joy and delight. As

children grow, they begin to assert their individuality. Falling, they get back up,

sometimes crying in pain and needing comfort, sometimes stubbornly moving

forward without much thought to the fall.

As God’s creation, we have an inherent need to seek and learn and grow.

God’s good work prepares us for the future. Though our parents provide much

of the knowledge we seek, experience is the teacher we learn from the most,

because hands-on learning imprints itself deeper in our mind.

As we ourselves have grown, we must allow our children to go it alone,

gaining their own experience, trusting in today’s text that God began this good

work in their hearts. He alone can draw them into a relationship that will guide

them as they grow. His preparation brings a certain amount of pain. With that

pain comes growth.

Prayer

“I don’t really like pain, Abba. But I trust You. Walk me through

the pain. Continue this good work in me. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Saddle the Donkey

August 31

Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.

Genesis 22:3

Carl and Ruth were tired. Working tirelessly for twenty-six years, they had

served on almost every board and committee in the church. Someone had told

them early in their Christian walk, “God wants us to be spiritually exhausted at

the end of each day!” They had taken it to heart, and many times they had sac-

rificed personal activities in an effort to be where they thought God expected

them to be; they just wanted to please God.

Then one fall Sunday morning, on a rare vacation, they attended worship

at a quaint little church in a picturesque little town in the South. The pastor

brought a message regarding purposeful service. He explained that our reason

for being is to serve the Lord.

Amen, thought Carl and Ruth.

Then he said something they’d never heard before. “When God calls us to

service, it is to be His call, on His terms, for His purpose. We are not to serve

for the sake of service. When God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, it was

God’s call. Abraham did not awaken one morning and tell Sarah, ‘I think we

should sacrifice Isaac. What do you think, Sarah?’ He would never have set out

to do that on his own!” The pastor went on to say, “We set out to please God

by doing things in His name. Many times those things are not what He would

have us do.”

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It is our reasonable sacrifice to serve God. He created us for service. But what

we do is as important as why we do it.

How many times have we found ourselves serving God only to be com-

pletely frustrated and at wits’ end? If we were to ask, we might hear God say,

“I appreciate your hard work, but that’s not what I wanted you to do.” Many

times we begin an act of service, not inspired by God, asking Him to bless it,

never connecting our frustration to the fact He wants us doing something else.

Our self-assigned sacrifice may look good, but we really should make sure

God wants us to saddle the donkey.

Prayer

“Lord, please show me what You want me

doing right now. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Conscious Effort

August 30

Think on these things.

Philippians 4:9

Another using dream. Gibb wondered what was going on and what it meant.

He couldn’t get the images out of his head.

He’d been free from addiction for over five years and hadn’t had to deal

with the seduction or obsession since then. Yet this dream felt so real; he’d

been searching through medicine cabinets in houses that weren’t his. When he

awoke, his relief was profound. But he was disturbed that he’d not only found

pills during his search, he’d taken some! Knowing it would end in him hurting

those he loved and terrorizing people he didn’t know, he couldn’t figure out

why, after all these years, the dreams had surfaced again.

Searching for a reason, Gibb realized he’d slacked off in his morning devo-

tions recently. He’d begun to hurry through the readings. He hadn’t been as

consistent in his prayer time either. Getting out of bed, Gibb decided to change

his devotional routine to see if the dreams stopped.

After brushing his teeth, he headed for the living room. Bending his heart

to God, Gibb simply asked, “What are the dreams about, Lord?” He received

an astonishingly immediate response. “Your life of leisure, Gibson. You have

taken things for granted lately, and the enemy has responded. When I told

you to think on these things, I meant all the time.” Grateful that God had redi-

rected him, and knowing this would end the dreams, Gibb bowed his head in

thanksgiving.

h

We can become neglectful of our relationship with God and end up losing the

closeness where we find refuge. It may not necessarily be a fatal mistake, but

left unchecked, it can cause needless suffering. Prolonged distancing will cause

us to cut ourselves off from our shield of protection. When that happens, we

must return to the basics, recommitting our hearts in an effort to draw closer

to God. Having gotten sloppy in our approach, it will usually require conscious

effort to reestablish our relationship without establishing just a familiar routine.

Paul advised the Philippians to think about wholesome things in order to

keep their minds stayed on God. We would do well to do the same and not

allow ourselves to become slipshod in our spiritual discipline. Conscious effort

will be rewarded with closeness in relationship.

Prayer

“I’m prone to becoming lazy, Lord. Help me

recommit my heart and mind to Your care. Draw

me ever closer. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Divine Q-tips

August 29

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19:12

“Did you hear what I said?” Kelly broke in on his wife’s reverie.

“What? Did you say something?” Her startled response told Kelly that

Denise hadn’t heard a word he’d said.

Always the jokester, Kelly decided to have a little fun at his wife’s expense.

“You never listen to me!” he wailed in mock frustration, wiping a pretend tear

from his eye. “You need to clean your ears out with Q-tips!” He forced himself

to keep from laughing, “You don’t give me the time of day anymore! I slave my

life away for you and what do I get in return? I’ll tell you what: nothing! A

great big nothing!” He couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore.

“You big doofus!” she said, swinging and missing her prankster husband.

“I’m sooooo sorry!” She almost touched the floor in a benevolent, servant-style

bow, as if humbling herself before her master. “What, pray tell, can this lowly

waif do for his highness?” The words dripped with sarcasm.

“Okay, okay,” he surrendered. “We could do this all night. But I seriously

thought you were listening when I asked if you minded that I go golfing with

the guys tonight? I mean, I know you don’t care. I was just wondering if you

had any plans.”

“Nope, nothing that would require the king to stay home guarding his

kingdom.” She teased. “Have fun, my dear. Hey, would you call Bruce and have

him ask Patty to come over while you’re gone, please?”

h

We complain about never hearing from God when, in reality, we haven’t been

tuned in to the sound of His voice.

We desire some ground-shaking form of correspondence, something more

tangible than a whisper and easier to recognize. God, in His sovereignty, would

rather we learn how to listen for the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.

In truth, there are times when we can’t hear God because we don’t want to,

so we pretend He is mute. The truth is we are deaf, and what our spiritual ears

need a good cleaning with divine Q-tips.

Have you ever dug too deep with a Q-tip? It hurts! The more attentive we

are, the less digging is required.

Prayer

“Clean my spiritual ears, Lord, so I can

hear You when You speak. Amen.”

 Let Me Help

August 28

So after ten years … Sarai his wife took … Hagar and gave her to her

husband to be his wife.

Genesis 16:3

“I don’t care what you say,” Grace challenged. “I think we need to give Stepha-

nie the money.” Ralph, on the other hand, felt their daughter needed to learn

from her carefree lifestyle and rampant spending.

Protection mode kicked in. “I can’t believe you could possibly want her to

have to suffer through the long process of reestablishing her credit!” she said

diplomatically.

But Ralph felt he needed to stand firm on this issue. “Grace,” he began,

reining in his frustration in light of her opposition. “What would we be telling

her by bailing her out? The truth is,” he blurted, “that’s just what she believes

we’re going to do!” Sorry he’d momentarily lost the battle over his emotions,

he regrouped, saying, “Honey, she’s been way too cavalier about doing as she

pleases. I believe she needs to resolve this issue on her own.” Attempting to

lessen Grace’s heartache, he pulled her toward him and held her close as he

said, “We had to learn on our own too, you know. No one could tell us what to

do at that age either.”

“Oh, Ralph.” She sighed in resignation. “She’s my little girl. I just want to

help.”

“Me too,” he said with an affectionate squeeze.

h

It can be tremendously difficult to stand aside and allow our children to suffer

when any interference on our part would be wrong.

Restraint at a time when someone wants our intervention requires wis-

dom. Only by seeking God’s guidance will we make the right choice.

We might actually be doing our children a disservice by taking action. We

may be helping them out of the very situation God intended to use to bring

them to an understanding of their improprieties.

When we get in God’s way, as Abraham did when he fathered Ishmael, we

are taking matters into our own hands instead of allowing God to work things

out in His way. Abraham’s disobedience has caused two nations to remain in

constant contention. We can hurt our children if we’re not careful.

Prayer

“Teach me the difference between hindering and

helping, Lord. Show me when to stay out of other

people’s business. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 We Are the Prodigal

August 27

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Luke 15:18

Shell had kept her distance from the zealots in her family for years. Her

thought? If you want to believe in Jesus, fine. Just leave me alone. Then something

had happened that she couldn’t explain in rational, humanly possible terms. It

had God’s handprint all over it; she could no longer deny the truth. “There is

a God, and He cares!”

With this newfound realization came understanding: she’d been selfishly

doing as she pleased because she wasn’t going to live by anyone’s rules but her

own! Now she understood how blatantly she had snubbed her nose at God! Oh,

what have I done in my arrogant belligerence, she thought. Not knowing what to

do, she called her mom. Through tears of joy, her mother assured her that God

could and would forgive her of everything if she just asked Him.

In stark contrast to how she had lived her life, she knelt beside the couch

and said through tears, “I know now that I’m a sinner, Lord Jesus. And you

have no reason to forgive me, but everyone who knows You says I can ask and

You’ll forgive every wrong thing I’ve done. So I’m asking now that You for-

give me and come into my heart and make me clean, show me how to live a

life worthy of Your sacrifice. Amen.” Mother and daughter alternated between

laughter and tears, both thanking God for His infinite mercy and grace.

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Each of us has sinned against God and need His forgiveness. Many of us have

made a lifestyle of it, thinking we could escape judgment. Others want salva-

tion but are under the impression they don’t deserve another chance. Neither

statement is valid.

We cannot unashamedly reject Jesus Christ and expect mercy, nor are we

beyond the depth of His grace if we turn and invite Him into our heart.

As in the story of the prodigal, we have been separated from God by sin.

And as the prodigal’s father, God is waiting to run to us the moment we turn

and head in His direction.

Prayer

“Lord, sometimes I do foolish things and get lost. Lead

me home to where You are. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”