This free church bulletin article was written by Brian Humek from Irving, TX. You are free to use this in church bulletins, church emails and on church websites. No credit needs to be given. Simply clicking the book link at the end of this free bulletin article will help more content to be placed on this site. Donate your own bulletin article here.
Bible Passage: Joshua 1:9 and 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Last night, I went into my son’s room to pray for him. He was sound asleep but I accidentally woke him to the point where he said, “Daddy you were right near the gorilla.” My son was dreaming. He can’t remember that dream. But I like to interpret it as I was such a strong courageous guy that I could get right in there next to the Gorilla. I was given an extra bit of strength and courage in my son’s dream, or so I like to think.
After reflecting on that for a while, I began to think about the strength God personally gives each of us. A little wisdom from the Old and New Testaments is in order. God tells Joshua in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Those are some encouraging words. Knowing that God is with us wherever we go, through all of our difficult times, can be quite a calming influence in our souls. Paul says something similar in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loves us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” There is no doubt about it, God strengthens and encourages us.
I don’t have to wait until the next time my son excitedly dreams, that I’m in there right next to the Gorilla, for me to have strength and courage. In his dream, I may have been the main course. Nevertheless, I prefer to see myself as a strong gorilla tamer or courageous zookeeper. I am blessed that I can simply have that kind of strength and courage given to me by God. We all can!
—> Support our free bulletin articles ministry by purchasing the 5 Star rated Leave it to God on Amazon today.
Related posts:
In the first chapter of John, Jesus tells Nathaniel that he had seen him sitting underneath a fig tree. Is there something significant about the fig tree? Some scholars .... (read more)
Our Bible passage today has shown me that when someone has a trouble that I’ve also experienced, I am to use my experience to help them out in any little way I can. I was able to put these verses into...
There are a lot of good reasons to do a nursing home ministry. I can give you a number of reasons. The following devotional talks about one of our favorite times at Heartland Assisted Living Center. I...
The older I get, the more I enjoy time moving slow. Sometimes I wish time could stop. Time is a valuable asset in our lives. Rarely do we ever say, “Boy, I just have too much time on my hands.” Often,...
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus speaks to two different groups of people, those who labor and those who have burdens. Jesus is simply saying that he is here to help. If there is something difficult for us to ...
How is your prayer life? Do you tell folks you’ll pray for them and never do it? I plead guilty to that sometimes. Mostly, that has been in my past prayer life. Today I called a gentleman from church....
Words, words, words, we hear a lot of them at this time of the year. A lot of people are wishing us well, but not everyone. Have you heard some unkind or impolite words lately? I have, and you may hav...
Our family is leaving on a trip at noon today, or so we hope. Before we can leave, we must find a rental car. I didn’t think this would be a problem. I called a lot of places and couldn’t find the car...
