Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

Every day we trust people. We perform services and believe our clients will pay their bills, hire contractors and feel confident they will do their best work, and elect leaders hoping they will govern our country effectively. But very often our trust is misplaced.

Tired people populate our world. This fact is not the byproduct of sleep deprivation only, though there is a lot of that going on. We are a culture of driven individuals who constantly strive to get more and be better. Our frantic activity requires a lot of effort and the results take a toll physically, mentally, and emotionally. We orchestrate every minute of the day to produce and often push our children and ourselves to the breaking point. This shows in a myriad of ways especially when our routine is interrupted.

The wind howled in the night sky shaking the metal roof panels above my bedroom that separated me from its fury. I shivered and pulled the covers up higher contemplating the awesome strength that swirled and whipped menacingly outside my window.

So often it seems that the loudest voices get results. I have noticed it in personal venues, at work, and in the world at large. The people who raise their voices and persistently demand attention often get what they want, but at what cost?

Sometimes it’s very hard to decipher between right and wrong, good and bad, or true and false. Often circumstances are deceptive, and certain people master the art of deceiving others into thinking they are something they are not. They blend right in with those they imitate and can wreak havoc without anyone really knowing what happened. In fact, discerning who represents truth and who doesn’t is often as hard as recognizing the right blue jeans.

I had a freak-out moment the other day. I meandered into the event center to check out the merchandise for our upcoming auction and the first thing I saw was a huge rattlesnake. Granted it was stuffed and in a glass case, but the beady eyes, thick body, and raised tail still gave me the creeps. It is no wonder that one of the names the Bible gives to our enemy, Satan, is “the serpent of old.” This dangerous and slithering reptile is not something I want to meet alone in a dark alley – or an event center for that matter.