Daily Direction Reading PlanSample

As a woman was driving down the expressway, an ax flew off the back of a truck going 60 MPH. It missed her windshield by one foot. Accidents like this happen some 25,000 times a year, and cause 100 people to die. The Apostle Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1 a near-death experience he had. Although he does not give the details of what happened, he used the ordeal to reveal his helplessness through it and the lesson he learned from it. He said, “We were crushed beyond our ability to endure; we thought we would never live through it. We expected to die.” And here is the lesson he learned: “As a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God, who raises the dead. He rescued us from mortal danger, and he will do it again. We have placed our confidence in him.” Of course, God does not deliver every person from physical death every time one calls on Him. God’s perfect wisdom dictates that sometimes He permits His children to die. Nevertheless, we know that dire circumstances are often times when God displays His power. When Paul begged God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God answered Paul by telling him that God’s power shows up best in weak people. We need not despair when trouble or sickness comes. Rather, we rely on God, the One who controls both life and death.