Daily Devotional For Monday, February 3, 2025

Well, it is Marvelous Monday. You are either back at work or school or both. I pray your weekend was good and restful. Often you may hear preachers say, “Make your life count for Jesus Christ.” While we all know this, at times, we do get discouraged and we let physical fatigue begin to steal not only our joy, but our desire. No one is above this. As you read the Scriptures, you will see that many of God’s leaders and people experienced this and God had to encourage them. While many may not think this was true with the great Apostle Paul, it was. Look at what God said to Paul in Acts 26:16, “But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you” (NASB).

The context for this happened when Paul (who was originally called Saul) was on the Damascus Road going to hunt down more Christians to imprison and kill. God stopped him in his tracks by blinding him. Paul was not discouraged, but misguided. He had lots of energy but he was using it all in the wrong way. As Paul stood before King Agrippa, he shared this experience with him as a witness and a testimony. King Agrippa told Paul he had almost convinced him to become a Christian as well.

Paul was attempting to make a point with King Agrippa. What was that point? God told Paul, “Today I’ve set you apart for My purposes.” He did it again and again in Paul’s life, and He will do it again and again in our lives. I don’t want my relationship with God to be just about settling my whereabouts for eternity. I want my life to matter for Him―every day of my life, every season of my life. You only get one chance to be a young person for the glory of God. You only get one chance to be a senior adult for the glory of God. 

Whatever life stage you’re in, there’s no do-over, no reset button. You only get one pass through this life for the glory of God. There is good news, however: Whatever stage you are in, you can determine to set the rest of your life apart for the purposes of God. That’s an amazing invitation. The question is: will you maximize this one opportunity to do this?

Consider this dialogue from the movie Simon Birch:

Simon Birch (a movie based on the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving) is the story of a 12-year-old boy named Simon Birch who, despite his physical handicaps, believes God has a plan for his life. Simon was born tiny and with an abnormally small heart. He was expected to die within the first 24 hours of his life. He surprises everyone, though, when he lives to be an adolescent.

A disappointment to his parents and the target of many childhood pranks because of his miniature size and odd-sounding voice, Simon has every reason to question his self-worth and purpose for living. But he embraces his condition and believes that God will use him in a unique, possibly even heroic, way.

Joe, Simon's best friend, doesn't believe in God, and he is not the only one who doubts that God has a plan for Simon. His schoolmates mock him relentlessly, believing his assertions are one more indication of his strangeness. On one occasion his Sunday school teacher hurriedly tries to hush him so he won't "frighten" the other children with his musings.

The small town's forlorn minister also doubts that God could have a plan for small Simon Birch. In a poignant conversation between Simon and the minister, Simon asks, "Does God have a plan for us?" The minister hesitantly replies, "I like to think he does."

Simon enthusiastically says, "Me, too. I think God made me the way I am for a reason." The minister coolly states, "I'm glad that, um, that your faith, uh, helps you deal with your, um, you know, your condition." "That's not what I mean," Simon states. "I think I'm God's instrument. He's going to use me to carry out his plan."

Dumbfounded by Simon's confidence, the pastor says, "It's wonderful to have faith, son, but let's not overdo it." With that he waves for Simon to leave, shakes his head in disbelief, and whispers with an air of cynicism, "God's instrument."

A short time later Simon is riding with his classmates in a school bus traveling down an icy road. Suddenly the bus driver veers to avoid a deer, loses control, and the bus plunges into an icy lake. Everyone in the front of the upright bus quickly evacuates out the door, but Simon and a handful of other students in the back of the bus are trapped as the bus begins to sink.

Simon takes charge. He opens a window and commands his classmates to climb out. Last of all, Simon escapes through the window. In the hospital following the accident, Joe assures Simon that all the kids are all right. Simon asks, "Did you see how the children listened to me because of the way I looked?"

Joe, with tears in his eyes, replies, "Yeah." With satisfaction, Simon says, "That window was just my size." "Extra small," Joe utters with a smile. A few seconds later, Simon dies, knowing that God used him. But what Simon doesn't know before he dies is that because of his unwavering faith, his friend Joe now believes in God.

Some 20 years later, standing at Simon's gravestone, Joe says, "I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice, not because of his voice or because he was the smallest person I ever met…but because he is the reason I believe in God. What faith I have, I owe to Simon Birch…it is Simon who made me a believer” (Source: Measured from when the studio logo appears, the scene between Simon and his minister begins at 1:07:23 and lasts 56 seconds; the final scene between Simon and Joe begins at 1:43:50. Simon Birch).

Think about this: When we are set apart for God’s purposes, we belong to Him and seek a close relationship with Him.

Questions To Consider

1. Do you ever wonder if God could really use you for His glory with all the “baggage” you have? If so, why? What would it take for you to believe this when you have doubts?
2. On the Damascus Road, Saul was cocky, arrogant, proud and zealous because he thought he was doing the right thing — protecting Judaism from this new found religion he thought was heresy, what we call today Christianity. Has God ever stopped you in your tracks for something zealous you were about that you thought you were doing it for Him? It could be an action, attitude or an attribute.
3. Simon Birch is a fictitious movie but it carries a powerful message. What is that message to you? Why? How does it relate to the truth of Scripture? 
4. Why do you think Simon could see God’s purpose for his life and no one else could, even his own pastor? What does this tell you and why?
5. God used all kinds of people whose past was stained in sin and blood. Moses was a murderer. Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth as a Moabite. Peter had a temper and foul mouth. Daved was an adulterer and a murderer. No matter your past, God has a purpose for you. What do you perceive it is and are you willing to do it even with your past “baggage?”

Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 1:8-9, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, (9) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (NASB).

Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, I choose to seek Your purposes today and the rest of my days in time so my life might make a difference for Your eternal Kingdom. Help me to honor You in every area of my life––in my family, finances, workplace, and in all my relationships. May I live today for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly