Devotion for Wednesday, April 15
 
MERE INCONVENIENCE OR MAJOR CATASTROPHE?
 
The fear of the Lord leads to life:
Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Proverbs 19:23
 
An article that appeared in the London Times tells about a farmer's terrible day. Badly crushed under his tractor and temporarily blinded, he staggered home three-quarters of a mile, then took off his boots to avoid dirtying the kitchen floor.
 
Fred had been using the headlights of his tractor for light while he repaired a water tank in the field. The hand brake failed, and the tractor ran over him, ripping his face with barbed wire that had been caught in the tractor's wheels. He suffered broken ribs and collarbone, a punctured lung, and damage to his face that left him unrecognizable.
 
After the accident, he managed to turn off the tractor and close the gates behind him. He walked home and said to his wife, "Don't panic, Mary, but I need an ambulance." His wife said the first thing he asked her after his eight hours of surgery was if the water tank had been fixed.
 
I don't know about you but I have to admire that man! Of all people with a right to complain, Fred Williamson is one.
 
Nobody ever said life is easy, trouble free, or without problems. Everyone knows that. The secret to handling problems is how we view them. It's an attitude thing. Running out of coffee is inconvenient. A rained-out picnic is inconvenient. Having to stay out of crowds for a few weeks is inconvenient. But a smashed jaw, broken cheekbone, crushed nose, and missing eye? - We're talking catastrophe!
 
Maybe I'm just a cockeyed optimist, but I think life is to be experienced joyfully rather than endured grudgingly. We know it brings complexities and trouble. Scripture tells us that. So, why do we take minor irritations so seriously? Why do we act as though it's the end of the world? Think of the pain we would spare ourselves, the stress we would avoid, if we just realized mere inconveniences can be survived.
 
This is all part of "resting content, untouched by trouble," as the verse for today describes it. It's believing when you trust God, regardless of the circumstances, you have "life, happiness, and protection from harm". (Proverbs 19:23 TLB)
 
The next time something gets you down - like not being able to go to your favorite diner or the gym - and you want to whine or complain, remember Fred Williamson.
 
Father, give us the grace to rest content in you no matter what. Teach us to trust. Amen.
 
                                                                           Pastor Ruth

 
820 Almshouse Road  Ivyland, PA 18974
215 357-6998   stjumc@aol.com