WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. — Romans 8:29
I read about a traveler who was visiting a logging area in the Pacific Northwest. He watched with great curiosity as a logger, working alongside a mountain stream, would periodically jab his sharp hook into a log as it went past and separate it from the others. This visitor could not see any reason as to why the logger would grab certain logs and let others go by.
When the visitor asked the logger about it, he replied, “These logs may all look alike to you, but I can recognize that a few of them are quite different. The ones that I let pass by grew in a valley where they were always protected from the storms. Their grain is rather course. But the logs that I have pulled aside come from high up on the mountains. They were beaten by strong winds from the time they were quite small. This toughens the trees and gives them a fine grain. We save these logs for choice work. They’re too good to be used for ordinary lumber.”
Maybe God is saving you for a choice work. Maybe you have been going through hardships and have asked, “Why, Lord? What is the purpose?” Maybe He has made it known to you, or maybe He hasn’t. Know this: He is seeking to make you more like Jesus and create in you a family likeness. It’s part of the Christian life. It is also part of every life. Everyone goes through hardship. But for the child of God, whatever comes into our lives comes first through the grid of God’s plan and purpose for us.
Radio Program: “What Jesus Thinks of the Church — II”<
TV Program: “Forgiven, Forgotten, and Free – Part 2”
Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 13-14, Matthew 24
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Used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514
