DAILY DEVOTIONAL – January 27, 2020
“Privileged Opportunities”
Prayer: Almighty God, You sustain us and all things by Your powerful Word and wisdom. In our times of hardship, grant us the eyes of faith to see Your love and purpose for us and how You use even the toughest times for Your glory and our benefit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Devotional – “Privileged Opportunities”
When you hear the word “opportunity” what comes to mind? Maybe the opportunity to be promoted at work? Maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to a certain place? What about when you hear the word “privilege”, what comes to mind? Maybe the privilege of being voted to a position of leadership by your peers, or, the privilege of an education? Whatever comes to mind when you hear these words, I doubt that it involves much adversity or hardship, however, that is exactly what Peter is saying in our text for today.
In summary, here is what Peter is saying: As those who have been “caused to be born again” and who have the “imperishable”, “unfading” and “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” that is “being guarded” by the “power of God”, we have been given the awesome privilege and opportunity to be “grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Times of trials and adversity are an opportunity for those who do not know the love of God to witness His faithfulness and promise to sustain and provide for us in our times of hardship. There are people who know you are a Christian, and when times of trial come, they will take notice of not only how we live and react to those times, but they will also take note of the result of the hardships we are going through. This is exactly why God may grant you and I the privilege of having to sacrifice or suffer or endure pain and loss. You and I have already been granted eternity and have received the fulness of heaven itself in Jesus Christ, and our salivation is absolutely certain and secure by the power of God’s Word. As we seek to serve God and be used by Him in a mighty way, although we never look forward to it or pray for it, we should never be discouraged when God blesses us with the opportunity and privilege of adversity for His name’s sake.
I recently read an article online entitled “How Wolves Saved the Foxes, Mice and Rivers of Yellowstone.” God’s creation is full of His infinite wisdom, and this story shows how God uses the adversity created by our sin to bring balance and life back into His created order. According to this article published on www.earthjustice.org :
[Yellowstone National Park] The land of Old Faithful wasn’t always so lush. Two decades ago, Yellowstone National Park was the victim of defoliation, erosion and an unbalanced ecosystem. But in 1995, everything changed.
That was the year wolves were reintroduced to the park. Before then, government predator control programs had all but eliminated the gray wolf from America’s lower 48 states. Consequently, deer and elk populations increased substantially, resulting in overgrazing, particularly of willows and other vegetation important to soil and riverbank structure, leaving the landscape vulnerable to erosion. Without wolves, the entire ecosystem of the park suffered.
As a top predator, wolves are one of Yellowstone’s linchpins, holding together the delicate balance of predator and prey. Their removal in the early 20th century disrupted food webs and set off something called a “trophic cascade,” in which the wolves’ natural prey (in this case, elk) multiplied, all the while consuming increasing amounts of foliage. The phenomenon occurred again in reverse when the wolves were reintroduced and the natural balance was restored.
When wolves were brought back to the park, they not only killed elk, but also changed their prey’s behavior patterns. The herbivores started to avoid areas like valleys and gorges where they could be easily hunted by predators. As a result, those areas began to regenerate, and species such as birds, beavers, mice and bears returned. Plant life once again thrived along the riverbanks and erosion decreased significantly. The stabilization of the riverbanks actually made the rivers and streams change course. With the reintroduction of just a small population of wolves, the landscape of the whole park transformed.
Isn’t it fascinating how predators like wolves not only bring balance to life in the animal kingdom but even support and propagate life. Now, I am sure if you were to ask the elk or the other animals on the wolves’ menu what they thought about bringing the wolves back into Yellowstone, they would have done everything to try and avoid it. In much the same way, times of adversity and trials in our life, as uncomfortable as they may be at the time, are opportunities to experience God’s power and blessing in unimaginable ways. Times of adversity are times when we are privileged to be the agents of life and hope to those around us, and maybe even bring life into this dead and dying world.
Thanks for joining me for our time of daily devotion, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
