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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: daily devotional

  • God Wastes Nothing

    God Wastes Nothing

    God wastes nothing. This looks like just a grey stump with a few turkey tail mushrooms on it. It is totally uninspiring and highly likely to be overlooked.

    Yet there is a lot going on.

    There are fungi spreading through the wood, slowly breaking it down and releasing nutrients back into the soil. Moss covers the surface, holding moisture and creating conditions that support a surprising variety of living things.

    Within the decaying wood, countless insects and other small creatures find food and shelter. Beetle larvae tunnel through softened wood, springtails and woodlice feed on decaying material, and spiders, centipedes, and predatory beetles hunt among the cracks and crevices. Much of this activity remains hidden from view, yet it forms a complex food web.

    Birds feast on the insects. Salamanders, frogs, mice and snakes may find refuge here. The decay feeds the earthworms under the soil.

    The stump serves as a miniature nursery for future growth. By retaining moisture and nutrients, it provides an ideal place for mosses, fungi, and eventually seedlings to become established. What appears to be the end of a tree’s story is part of a continuing cycle in which death supports new life and sustains an entire community of organisms.

    In God’s economy, there is no waste. Everything serves to bring Him glory.

    Even our suffering, tears and disappointment have a purpose. I think it was Tozer who said, “When I understand that everything happening to me is to make me more Christlike, it resolves a great deal of anxiety.”

    When we become aware that God is using everything to make us more Christlike, it can make us less anxious. Our struggles, in Christ, are not God’s condemnation (Romans 8:1). God is always for us (Romans 8:32). He designs all our circumstances for our everlasting good (Romans 8:28). Everything in my life can direct us to Christ. Indeed, it should.

    In those times of anxiety and stress, we can remember Paul’s words.

    I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in abundance; in any and all things I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundanceand suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Romans 12:13

    There is nothing we can’t endure, knowing that God wastes nothing. Jesus holds us fast and will use all our struggles for good.

    Praise His holy name

    Kevin 

    You might also like, “General revelation, why no one can say they didn’t know.”

    SUMMARY

    A seemingly lifeless grey stump teems with hidden activity — fungi, insects, birds, and seedlings — forming a complex, self-sustaining cycle that mirrors how God wastes nothing in our lives. Just as decay in nature serves new life, our struggles, anxieties, and disappointments are purposefully designed by God to conform us to Christ and work for our everlasting good.

    TAKEWAY

    God’s economy wastes nothing — what appears dead or purposeless in nature (and in our lives) is actively being used to sustain, nourish, and generate new life and growth. 

    Our suffering is not God’s condemnation but His design; He is always for us (Romans 8:1, 32) and orchestrates every circumstance for our everlasting good (Romans 8:28). 

    Contentment and freedom from anxiety are possible in any circumstance when we recognize, as Paul did, that Christ is our strength through both abundance and need (Philippians 4:12–13).

    You might enjoy these,

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  • When You’re Drowning in Sin, Call on Your Heavenly Lifeguard

    When You’re Drowning in Sin, Call on Your Heavenly Lifeguard

    Jesus is always ready to rescue. because of God's Faithfulness

    The job of a lifeguard is to watch over people and rescue them from dangerous situations, even saving lives if need be. God is the ultimate lifeguard. He never sleeps, is always on duty and responds to the faintest of cries for help.

    King David endured many trials, often of his own doing, but He understood that he could not save himself. David had to call upon the Lord.

    He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, my strength.”
    Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
    My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
    I call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
    And I am saved from my enemies.

    The cords of death encompassed me,
    And the torrents of vileness terrified me.
    The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
    The snares of death confronted me.

    In my distress I called upon Yahweh,
    And cried to my God for help;
    He heard my voice out of His temple,
    And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.     Psalm 18:1-6

    A drowning person is unable to save themselves. They need outside assistance.

    God rescues us from our sin, knowing full well that before long, we’ll be in over our heads again and in need of rescue.

    His mercy and patience are endless. His sacrifice for us was once for all (Hebrews 10:11-18). Our sins are forgiven at the cross, but He repeatedly pulls us out of the flames.

    When we become true followers of Christ, we are covered by His imputed righteousness, but we are far from perfect. In the journey to be made holy, fully set apart for Christ (being sanctified), there are many missteps and problems.

    Yet, when we turn to Him and call out, He comes to our rescue again and again. There will still be earthly consequences for our sins, but we are held fast by what Christ has done. No one can snatch us out of His hands.

    I find that very comforting. I want to be like Jesus more than anything else, but I stumble and fall far too often. I know that when I call, He will answer. My heavenly lifeguard is always there. That’s great news because I need Him every moment of every day. 

    Sometimes, I wonder how long He will stay patient with me. Then I remember His character and promises. God is incapable of failing to keep His promises. It is part of His very nature.

    Do you need rescue? Call on Him today! Good news for the drowning

    Kevin 

    Life: God has His hands on believers’ lives

    God wastes nothing.

    SUMMARY

    Like a drowning person unable to save themselves, we are helpless against sin without divine rescue — and God, our ultimate lifeguard, is always on duty. Drawing from Psalm 18 and the life of King David, this devotional reminds us that no matter how often we stumble, God answers every cry for help.

    TAKEAWAY

    God is the ultimate lifeguard — never sleeping, always on duty, responding to the faintest cry for help 

    Like David, we cannot save ourselves from sin; we must call upon the Lord 

    His mercy is endless; though earthly consequences remain, no one can snatch us from His hands

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