Daily Bread Devotional April 19

Embark with me as I recount the steps to a fulfilling role in education, one that I firmly believe was shaped by divine intervention. The narrative weaves through the corridors of a school where I have found not only my calling but also a community that shares in the joy of shaping young lives. This chapter of my story is a testament to the richness that comes from heeding a higher call, one that often leads to unexpected yet rewarding destinations. I extend a heartfelt invitation to all listeners to share this celebration of growth, friendship, and the echoes of impact we have within our community and beyond. Let's connect and share the melodies of our own life stories, enriching this tapestry of faith and fellowship.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:20

Good morning, ginger Adventurers. It is time for another devotional episode. In this episode I'm going to be doing April 19th's devotional, which is titled the Valley of Praise. Now I would like to tell y'all that my dear best friend did this devotional before I had a chance to read through this and shared an absolutely amazing story to answer the questions, and I'm going to want to share that story later, because it just really touched my heart what he had to say. Before I get to that story, though, I want to share the scripture that this devotional is based on 2 Chronicles 20-26. On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Baraka. Now I can see where you wouldn't know where that's going. The entire scripture that they're basing the devotional on today is 2 Chronicles 20-26.

Speaker 1: 1:21

Now the story that they give to go with the scriptures talks about a poet named William Cowper, and William Cowper had struggled with depression. His whole life ended up trying to kill himself, ended up in a, an asylum, but it was in that asylum that his life really changed. Now, you wouldn't expect that to be a place that your life could change. I mean, I hear the word asylum and I don't picture good things. However, god worked miracles in this asylum. He had people placed in this asylum. That made a difference in William's life and it turned things better for him. He came to a really strong faith in Christ and then he was able to use that faith to write some of our most well-known hymns, and one of these hymns is God Moves in a Mysterious Way, and when you're able to sing hymns, I'm telling you it really, it really touches your heart. When you're able to sing hymns, I'm telling you it really, it really touches your heart when you're able to sing hymns and when you're able to praise and worship God with those hymns. So it's absolutely fantastic that this man that was struggling so hard through those struggles was able to be led to Christ and then to create these hymns that inspire us all even today. That is just absolutely amazing.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Now, the scripture that was given is talking about when the people of Judah had King Jehoshaphat. I remember that name from when I was a child. My grandmother taught us this story King Jehoshaphat, sorry. My grandmother taught us this story, king Jehoshaphat, sorry. So they were in a battle and they were struggling. They thought that they were not going to be able to win this battle, but God unexpectedly showed them kindness. So in this battle, the army that came up against theirs turned on themselves and they killed each other and God's people were able to go into that valley and take over that valley, like they were able to have victory. I mean, if you want to read the entire story, you would, of course, go to the scripture I mentioned in the beginning 2 Chronicles 20, 21 through 26. But God helped Judah's people have that victory, and it wasn't a victory that anyone would have expected. But out of that bad situation where it looked like impossible, that there was no way they'd ever be able to win, god turned that around. God can do that in any situation and I love the fact that when my friend sent me these devotionals like sent me his answers to this, he said that exact same thing. He said God can bring good out of anything. My friend, you are not wrong. God absolutely can bring good out of anything. Now the questions for this devotional are have you seen God bring good out of difficulty in your life? How? What can you thank him for today? I'm gonna share my friend's story first. I'm gonna share my answers too, because I know that y'all want to hear what my answers are, but I'm gonna share my friend's answer. First, because I absolutely love this.

Speaker 1: 4:58

He was working at a job that he loved, like he loved the people, he loved being there, but it just didn't make enough money, like it was not feasible for his household to live on that money. So he had to make a decision Stay at the job where he loved the people. But you know you're scrambling to figure out how to live or leave the job to get a job that makes enough money for you to live. So he left that job right, and got another job that made enough money and you would think that would be like the perfect solution. Right, because now you're making enough money to live. Right, Because now you're making enough money to live.

Speaker 1: 5:44

But the new job was absolutely toxic. He hated going to work. It was not an environment where he felt accepted or cared about or like anything mattered, like it was a very toxic situation. So OK, now you've got money to live, but you're in a work environment that is really negatively impacting you. So he ended up leaving that job to go to the job he's currently at, where he's in analysis, and it's an absolutely fantastic place to work. He has met a ton of incredible people there. His current work team is fantastic. He loves his current work team and the money there is much, much better.

Speaker 1: 6:29

So in that situation he, you know, stepped out, took a leap of faith, took the second job. Didn't work out Okay, took another leap, got the job he currently has and so now he has an amazing work environment and he has the money that is feasible is way more than feasible for his household to live on. Plus, my friend was not a Christian before this point and when he went to this new job he met all these amazing Christian people and was able to see through them, through their example of how they lived their lives, how they acted at work, how they treated people to become a Christian and y'all. He is now one of the biggest prayer warriors you will ever meet in your life, ever, and he has such a live out loud faith, like his light for Jesus is so bright. I would have never guessed when I first met him. I would have never guessed that he had not grown up a Christian, but because he stepped out and took this leap of faith to go to these different jobs to get to a better place for his household and for himself, that ended up leading him to Christ, which is just so fantastic.

Speaker 1: 8:08

Now, my answer to that question is I have seen God work through situations in my life by some negative things that happened in my past. I ended up getting divorced, and I know that that is a rough subject in the Christian community. Some people agree with it, some people don't, some people understand it, some people don't. But I ended up getting divorced and I did struggle for a few years and the financial situation was bad and I didn't know what I was going to do with my career. I didn't know what I was going to do with my career. I didn't know what I was going to do with a lot of things, and that all ended up turning into amazingness. It led me to places I never would have seen myself going.

Speaker 1: 8:53

I ended up getting my bachelor's degree.

Speaker 1: 8:55

I ended up getting my master's degree.

Speaker 1: 8:57

I ended up working as an assistant in a school. That, um, while also ended up getting a job at the library, and then I ended up getting a teaching position in a school, and I absolutely believe God led me to this school. Um, I have learned so much since I've been at this school. I met one of my best friends at this school um that I've talked about on my podcast. She is so fantastic and I am in a position now that I absolutely love. That is amazing, and I get to make a positive impact on all these kids every day, and I ended up where I'm at right now in life because of different negative situations from my past that led to choices that were made that led me here, and I believe it's so important for me to be listening to God and really trying to follow what he's asking me to do, even if I'm not sure about it, because it will lead me to places I never thought I'd go. So that's my one example for that. And I could tell you so many more stories I really could. I could probably sit here and talk for another half an hour giving you stories, but that's all I'm going to answer.

Speaker 1: 10:18

For that question on this particular devotional Now, I did want to go to the bottom of the devotional. Now, I did want to go to the bottom of the devotional and it says let everything that has breath praise the Lord, psalms 156. I'm going to leave you with that verse. Friends, I love sharing these devotionals with you. If you would like to give me comments, questions, prayer requests. Please feel free to reach out. You can reach me at adventuresofjinger at gmailcom. You can also reach me at facebookcom, slash adventuresofjinger or on twitter at jingeradventures. See you all on the wild side.