A Brighter Future: A 5-Day DevotionalSample

Day 3 — Living yielded

When Samtris was just 11 years old, his father died from illness, and his world came crashing down. Three years later, his mother passed too. It was a grief too profound for a teenager to bear. “When my mother left after my father, I felt like I had lost all hope for life. I lost focus at school and began to feel like I had no purpose,” reflects Samtris.

Can you relate to that feeling?

Moments where the waves feel too high, the wind too strong, and the road impossible to walk. Yet, as Samtris leaned into the pain of losing the two most important people in his life, he began to see another light glowing softly beside him in his grief. It was a flicker that came in the form of his mentor from the local Compassion centre. Samtris’ mentor didn’t always have the perfect words to say, but he would come to Samtris’ house and sit with him. Very slowly, Samtris began to recover from his deep sorrow through the love and support of his community.

Just as Samtris’ mentor was willing to bend his knee to the pain, we too have a faithful Father who is unafraid to enter the messy, broken, darkest parts of our lives. Our pain is not a repellent to Him; in fact, it is our weary and crushed spirit that invites the Healer to come in even closer. When we surrender to our need for Him, we discover the nail-scarred hands of the Father, softly tending to the places deep within our hearts where our broken dreams have gone.

Since childhood, Samtris had a dream of owning his own automotive business, but because of the circumstances of his life, it didn’t seem like it was going to come true. He was prepared to let it go, but God had something else in mind.

Today, Samtris is 29 years old, owns two businesses, and employs nine people from his local village. Through his businesses, he has been able to invest in youth who spend their time drinking alcohol or getting involved in fights. As Samtris reflects on his past, he recognises that God had a plan for him from the beginning when his beloved late mother enrolled him in the Compassion program.

Although God was aware of the grief and pain that Samtris would have to walk through on his journey, He did not abandon him in it. He set up support and moments of encouragement along the way so that Samtris would experience manna in portions for the day ahead. And, in time, Samtris’ story has become a beacon of hope for other young people struggling to find the way forward.

We have a faithful Father whose love is so profound and whose nature is strong enough to hold us in even the lowest of our griefs, and He is not giving up on you and the circumstances you are facing in your life right now. May you be able to yield to His work and receive the inheritance He has prepared for you that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Reflection question

What if God asks me to surrender my future to Him?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the God who sees the beginning, middle, and end of our story, and that You faithfully stay with us through it all. Today, we pray that You would fill us with courage to hold fast to the truth of Your Word and give us Your perspective over the circumstances in our lives that feel impossible to move through. Thank you that because of our resurrected King Jesus, we have a hope that is eternal and a future that is bright. Amen.