When the adventure is no longer fun

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The Great Adventure”

Our Bible verse for today: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “When the adventure is no longer fun”

Sometimes the adventure of the Christian life is not fun. Instead, sometimes it is hard, dark, uncertain, and maybe painful. The Christian life is not all lollipops and gumdrops, pretty flowers and puppy dogs. Sometimes there is sickness, death, job loss, rebellious children, difficult work situations, traffic accidents, broken relationships, and more. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes it hurts. What do we do when the adventure is no longer fun? How do we handle that?

Carol Kent is a Christian author, conference speaker, and thought leader. She and her husband Gene had one child – a son named J.P. He was a model child. He had strong faith in Jesus, he was an outstanding student, and a leader of the student body at school and of the church youth group. After high school he went to the U.S. Naval Academy and then he went on to have a career as a Naval Officer. He was married and had two children.

Then he committed murder. Not manslaughter. It wasn’t an accident. It was premediated, cold-blooded murder and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Carol and Gene were crushed. They did everything they could to help their son, but he is in prison and will remain there for the rest of his life. Carol ended up writing a book about their ordeal and the lessons they learned from it. The title of the book is “When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable faith in unthinkable circumstances.”

Carol wrote, “There are some tragedies that are too big for the heart to hold and they defy any description that makes sense. Time weaves its way through the shock, the hurt, and the inexpressible feelings, and one day you discover that in the process of daily survival, you have instinctively made decisions (good and bad), defined your theology, formed an opinion about God, and determined that you will either curl up and die emotionally or you will choose life.”

Ultimately, that’s the crossroads we must all come to when tragedy strikes. We must decide if we are going to shrink from it, withdraw from life, curl up and die emotionally, or if we are going to rely on faith, embrace God, and choose life. If we choose life, we must acknowledge it will not be the same life we had before the tragedy struck. Things will be different now, but life can still be good again – different but good.

We will all face trouble in this life. Jesus told us so. During those times, the adventure of the Christian life probably won’t seem like much fun. The only answer that makes sense though, is to lean into the pain and grief, trust God, push through it, and choose to live. I encourage you to choose faith and to live life – and to do it despite the pain and heartache.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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