Posts
“G.F.I. “
By Susanne Scheppmann
Key Verse:
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or
tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will
not fail you or forsake you.”
(Deuteronomy 31:6 NASB)
Devotion:
I
pulled in the driveway grateful to be home after a five-day conference. I
pressed the remote and the garage door rolled open. Blood trickled toward me as
I stepped from my car. I knew immediately what had happened—the freezer had
gone out. All the meat had thawed and the bloody, watery juices had drained out
of the freezer into a maroon stream that slowly ran toward the driveway.
Mark, my husband, was out of town. I stood in my
garage disgusted and slightly freaked out. What did I do? Of course, I called
my husband for help. I didn’t care if it was late and there was a three-hour
time difference.
He patiently said, “Check the G.F.I.”
“The what?”
“The ground fault interrupter. It’s in the
electrical outlet where the freezer is plugged in.”
Sure enough, the G.F.I. had tripped and shut
down the freezer. Nothing was wrong with the freezer, except now it had hundreds
of dollars of rotting meat sitting inside it. Because of a G.F.I., my evening
turned from one of anticipated relaxation to hours of vexing cleanup.
Isn’t our faith like that, too? We are believing
and trusting the Lord, when all of sudden something happens—G.F.I—God Faith
Interrupter. Our faith trips and we melt down like a gallon of vanilla ice
cream in a hot garage.
It’s certainly difficult to understand the
twists and turns in our journey of faith. When a God Faith Interrupter occurs,
we need to grope in the darkness for verses to assure us that regardless of our
circumstance, the Lord is loving, He is merciful, and He will guide us. God
Faith Interrupters might shake our faith. They will be scary. They certainly
will be unexpected and uncomfortable, but the Lord holds the charge of power to
uphold our faith even when it shuts down temporarily.
Express to the Lord your fear of a God Faith
Interrupter. Then thank Him that He will be with you, showing you mercy and
loving-kindness, no matter what happens in this life.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I prefer those times when my life goes
smoothly. However, I ask for an extra measure of faith when my life takes a
twist and moves off the planned path. Teach me to trust Your sovereignty in my
life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application
steps:
Read
Genesis 39. Note the G.F.I. in Joseph’s
life. Consider how our Key Verse
correlates with Genesis 39:20-23?
Reflections:
What God Faith Interrupters have occurred in
my life?
Did
you believe that God was with you throughout the ordeal? Why or why not?
Power
verses:
Jeremiah 31:3, “The Lord
appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
Genesis
39:20-21, “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he
showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison
warden.”
Psalm 57:1, “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy
on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of
your wings until the disaster has passed.”
© 2008 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment