One Year Book of Hope Week 1 Day 3

Today's devotional talked about the two ways you can respond to pain in your life. You can either let it harden your heart towards God or you can use it to soften your heart and make you more sensitive to the Lord. It really is a choice. My knee-jerk reaction is to yell and be mad, but if I take a few seconds to think about it, I know in my heart that the Lord isn't allowing things to happen to me to make me suffer. Everything is happening according to His plan for my life, which is good. I can make the choice to see each circumstance as an opportunity to grow closer to Him and let Him shine through me.

The reading for today was Hebrews 3. The Israelites hearts were hardened because they rebelled and tested God when they were in the wilderness. The consequences of this was God not letting them enter the promised land. I need to follow the instructions of Hebrews 3:12-15 and make sure my heart harbors no evil or unbelief that could turn me away from God. If I see a fellow believer starting to take that path, I must warn them off of it. If I am faithful to the end and trust God, I will share in all that belongs to Christ.