GOD DOES NOT PROMISE THAT WE WILL ESCAPE PAIN OR HARDSHIP IF WE CHOOSE RIGHT, BUT HE DOES PROMISE TO BE WITH US.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Daniel 3:19-27.
Verse of the Day: “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2).
Susan stomped into the house and up the stairs. She walked through every room of the house and finally stopped outside Ludmilla’s door. Ludmilla was an exchange student who had been living with Susan’s family for several months. When Ludmilla came to live with them for the school year, Susan and her family had been overjoyed to discover that she was a Christian.
Susan rapped on Ludmilla’s door.
“Come in!” Ludmilla called.
Susan opened the door and stuck her head into the room. Ludmilla sat cross-legged on her bed with a book opened on her lap. “Where’s Mom?” Susan asked.
Ludmilla smiled. “I think she took Carrie to her ballet lesson,” she said, referring to Susan’s sister.
Susan groaned and stepped into the older girl’s room.
“What’s wrong?” Ludmilla asked.
“I had to stay after school today,” she said as she flopped down on Ludmilla’s bed. “My teacher had to leave the room, and when she came back, she caught the class shouting and shooting spitballs and told us we all had to stay after school.”
“Oh,” Ludmilla said. “I see.”
“But I didn’t do any of that stuff. I wanted to, but I stayed in my seat while everyone was going crazy around me.” She pouted. “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I got punished with the rest of them.”
“You did the right thing,” Ludmilla said, “and you were punished anyway.”
Susan nodded. “Yeah!” she said. “It’s not fair. I thought being good was supposed to keep me out of trouble.”
Ludmilla smiled. “Many times it does. But God does not promise that doing good will always make things easy. But he does promise to always be with us, even when life is hard.”
“Even when we have to stay after school?” Susan asked.
“Yes,” Ludmilla said. “Even when we have to stay after school.”
TO DISCUSS: In today’s Bible reading, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a hot furnace even though they had done nothing wrong. Was God with them? How did God help them? Does God promise you won’t ever have problems if you make right choices? What does he promise?
TO PRAY: “Lord, you promise to always be with us. You also promise that we can have joy in your presence. We need this joy when we’re going through hard times. Thank you. Lord.”
