Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
James 5:17-18
DEVOTION FOR TODAY, September 13, 2021
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…” I cannot begin to tell you how encouraging that Scripture is to me. Who cannot sing, “I am sometimes up, and I’m sometimes down?” The fiery darts of the devil keep coming our way; and about the time that we think things have settled down, then “Here we go again.”
Even a man who could pray like Elijah had his times of doubts and fears. The same man who could pray away the rain, and then pray it back, could not pray away the weariness of his soul. He asked God to take his life because he felt like a failure. Then God gave him the cure for his depression: get some rest, rise up and eat, and then get going again. It was also helpful for him to learn that he wasn’t the only one who was being faithful.
There is a great danger to our soul. The thought that we are the only one who is living right will soon cause us to live wrong. The “poor me” attitude will blur our vision of God. It will also chase away our friends. The truth is that we are all in this world together, and we all need one another’s love; and we all need God.
The great prayer warriors go through times of spiritual drought. There can be victories, but we must remember none of them are permanent in this world; other battles will come. Once in a while God must shake us and get our attention to bring us out of the cave where we are hiding. Then we can again hear him in the silence of our heart. Love doesn’t need to yell or scream; God’s love is mostly spoken in a quiet voice. We simply may need to get alone with God out in the sunlight and listen. Then we can hear Him say that the best is yet to come, so let’s keep walking together.
This beautiful song says, “I thank God for the mountains, and I thank him for the valleys, I thank him for the storms he brought me through. For if I’d never had a problem, I would never know that He could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.
Through it all…I have learned to trust in Jesus, I have learned to trust in God…I have learned to depend upon His Word.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
“Link to YouTube Video –
THROUGH IT ALL”
