Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Who knows if you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “There’s no telling how God might use this”   The Old Testament book of Esther is fascinating for many reasons. For one thing, it is the only book in the Bible that makes no direct mention of God. And yet, His presence in the background is obvious throughout the story, and His purpose for the main events becomes crystal clear by the end. The Story of Esther and her cousin Mordecai is also loved because of their courage to remain faithful and to do the right thing, even when circumstances were confusing and threatening.   This morning, I’m going to share with you two quotes from the editorial notes in the Swindoll Study Bible. I’m going to quote them in-full and at length because I think they summarize the book of Esther about as well as it can be summarized, and Chuck also helps us to see the personal application for us:   “The sovereignty and faithfulness of God permeates each scene. Nothing is truly coincidental … When events seemed out of control to Esther and Mordecai, when the king dictated ruin for their people, when evil was poised to triumph, God was at work. He worked through their dark days (Esther was being taken into the harem in Esth. 2:1-16), their faithful obedience (Esther risking her life before the king in Esth. 5:1-3), and their victories (Esther revealing Haman’s plot and the Jews destroying their enemies in Esth. 7-9). This message is clear: God is sovereign even when life doesn’t make sense.”   Pastor Chuck concludes: “Life can be hard. Difficult times happen, and pain cannot be avoided. When life doesn’t make sense, do you turn to God or away from Him? Let the book of Esther encourage you that God is always present and active – even when you don’t see him. Jesus calls us friends (John 15:15), and the Spirit is our Advocate (John 14:26). Trust and obey, as Esther did … and watch God work.”   Whatever difficult situation you may be facing in life right now, remember that God is there with you, He does have a plan, and He is at work behind the scenes. There is no telling how He might be planning to use this. So, trust Him, obey Him, and just keep doing the right thing.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Her children rise up and called her blessed; her husband also praises her.” Proverbs 31:28 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “I insulted his mother, so he beat me up”   I got beat-up once as a kid. Okay, more than once. I actually got beat up a lot because I was something of a wuss as a kid and I got picked on a lot. But in one particular case it was entirely my own fault. I had a friend named Philip. He was a big kid. Solid and strong. He probably grew-up to play offensive lineman in the NFL. He was that kind of big. But he was a gentle giant. Quiet, easy-going, and nice to everyone. So much so that skinny little me used to roughhouse with Philip and I never felt as if my life was in danger.   Until the day I insulted his mother. I don’t remember why and I don’t remember what I said. He must have made me mad about something and before I realized what I was doing, out of my mouth popped something like “Yeah, well you mother wears army boots,” or “She drinks whisky and works on carburetors,” or something equally clever. At that point Philip was still a giant but he was no longer gentle and I learned an important lesson that day – don’t insult a guy’s mother.   One year a greeting card company decided to supply free Mother’s Day greeting cards to prisoners in a men’s prison. They thought they had enough, but they weren’t even close. The demand was so heavy that they had to call the warehouse to send an emergency resupply. The event was so successful that they decided to do it again for Father’s Day. But this time the demand was much lower. Fathers were no where near as popular as Mothers in the hearts of those prisoners.   What is it about mothers that makes them so special to us? It probably started with nine months of bonding in the womb. And then there’s the maternal instinct that makes most mothers such tender caregivers of their children. And then, more to our theme for this month of finding sources of renewed hope, mothers are often our biggest fans in life. Mine sure was. I was a mamma’s boy and I was always running to her to kiss the boo-boo or to listen to all my woes and sorrows. I was forty-two and I was still running to my mommy to make it all better.   When it comes to mothers, mine was a rock star (not literally). So was my wife. Linda was an excellent mother to our children and I’m grateful to have shared the parenting duties with such a strong, capable, wise, and godly woman.   What a powerful and special influence mothers have in our lives! How blessed we are to have good godly mothers. They are such a source of comfort, hope, and encouragement. My mother and my wife are both in heaven now, but I will honor them on Mother’s Day just the same. I encourage you to honor yours too. (And for goodness sakes, whatever you do, don’t insult a person’s mother!)   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Renewed hope from their good examples”   I’m so grateful to have known each of the four woman whose stories we have been considering for the last several days. Their strength and courage through adversity; their perseverance when it would have been so easy to give in and give up; and their strong faith and trust in God for whatever the outcome; I find their examples inspiring. It reminds me of the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.”   Of course, I was most familiar with the example set by my own wife, Linda. I draw strength and inspiration every day from the memory of how she lived with courage, determination, and perseverance. That was true of all four of those women. And it’s not merely the fact that they went through those trials that causes us to admire them, but how they did it. It was how they dealt with their challenges that so impressed us. So surely, if they could live the way they did facing the challenges they had to deal with, the rest of us can handle our challenges with similar strength and courage.   For my part, as I attempt to gaze into the future and try to envision what life without Linda is going to be like in the months and years ahead, I admit that I can’t fathom it. Even after five months I still can’t see it. So, I need a verse like Joshua 1:9 to encourage me and to help me find renewed hope. God commands me to be strong and courageous, and to not be afraid or discouraged.   I have to admit that sometimes I am not strong and courageous, and sometimes I am afraid and discouraged. But that’s okay; those are normal human emotions in a situation like this and to be expected. That’s true for me and for the other three men who are part of this story, but it’s also true for you too. Sometimes life is hard and the future is uncertain, and it is perfectly normal to struggle with uncertainty.   But as God promised in Joshua 1:9 and in numerous other verses in both the Old and New Testaments, He is with us every step of the way. Not only that, but when you arrive in the future, He will already be there waiting for you. He is here now and He will be there then.   Jacki, Gail, Linda, and Rebecca knew that truth and they lived by that truth. So now, the rest of us can draw renewed hope for our own futures thanks to the good examples they set for us. The lesson for us then, is to go and do likewise. Let us resolve to set a good example for others by the way we face our challenges today.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Trust, obey, keep moving”   I have chosen to bring us back to the same verse we were thinking about yesterday because there is more for us to learn from it. How did those four couples, those four men and four women, handle the challenge of those progressing illnesses that all resulted in the death of the wives? How did they, and how are they, getting through that? You know the answer. With the help of the Lord. They all relied on the truth expressed in Proverbs 3:5-6.   None of us really understood why it was happening; none of us were okay with it; and none of us wanted it to end the way that it did. But we know that God is sovereign over the situations of our lives. We know that He is good, that His love for us is unconditional, and that His will is perfect. So, wives and husbands both trusted in the Lord with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding, doing our best to honor Him in the way we conducted ourselves, and believing that His plan is perfect.   Why do some live and others do not? Why do some get cancer, or Alzheimer’s, or have strokes, or die young? Why are some healed and others aren’t? Those questions are often difficult to answer. Sometimes there is no answer on this side of heaven. But we trust in the Lord and keep moving forward anyway.   Our wives all knew that nothing is over until you give up. And so, none of them gave up. They lived until they died. They hoped for longer life, but they also had the assurance of eternity in heaven. In His perfect will, God has chosen to bring the wives home to heaven and to leave the husbands here on earth for a while longer. That means He isn’t done with us yet here in this world. There is more living to do, more work to be done, more people to bless. And so, we press on – missing our wives, cherishing the memories, and trusting God for the future.   It is hard, and it does hurt, but there is also hope. Life going forward will not be the same, but it can still be good. Sometimes Proverbs 3:5-6 is the best you can do – sometimes it is all you can do. Trust, obey, keep moving.   But of course, this is not just a story about four men and four women dealing with life and death issues. This is a story about all of us. It is a story about life. There is much we don’t understand and don’t like in life. There is a lot that is hard. But the answer is always the same – trust, obey, keep moving.   There’s one more truth I believe we can glean from this story that will be helpful for all of us. We will think about that tomorrow.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Trust the Lord and keep moving forward”   Yesterday we considered the important truth that action makes a difference. Whatever it is we are dealing with in life, doing something about it is better than doing nothing about it. As an illustration, I told you about four men who are all recent widowers and who now have to figure out how to move forward in life without their much-loved spouses (grieving and moving forward at the same time). Today we will consider the inspirational examples of the four wives who are now in heaven.   Jacki courageously battled cancer for seventeen years. It went into remission and came back multiple times. Steve lovingly and faithfully walked through those years with her, weathering the storms side-by-side. Jacki never gave-in to the cancer. She continued to live life fully. The first time I met her she was entertaining guests in her home in Maryland, despite the cancer treatments. The next time, we were together on a mission trip to the coal-mining region in eastern Kentucky. Towards the end of her life, she still went on skiing vacations with Steve. She could no longer ski, but she could sit by the fire in the lodge and watch Steve as he came down the mountain, and that was good enough for her.   Gail had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It attacked her in her early fifties. Jim was an Emergency Room physician. He retired early to care of Gail. Although the disease was progressing quickly, together they still came to church on Sundays, they still went on vacations, and in the mid-stage of the disease Gail even went on a cross-country motorcycle ride with Jim and friends. Although her memory was bad and she was often confused, she still sat on the back of that Harley for hundreds of miles – being with her husband and friends and making the most of life.   My Linda had a stroke and brain surgery that left her seriously disabled. She lived for almost seventeen years after that and she never stopped living life fully. She went on a mission trip to conduct vacation Bible schools in Gypsy villages in the Transylvania region of Romania (in a wheelchair!) She served as the VBS leader at our church one summer. She was involved in children’s ministry at our church right up until the last days of her life. And she never lost her can-do spirit or her playful sense of humor.   Rebecca was also young, only fifty-five. She bravely fought cancer for almost a year, enduring surgery and chemotherapy. But she never gave-in or gave-up. She was our music director, leading singing in the church almost every Sunday (including just three days before she died). She also served as the Regional Director of the district office for Congressman John Rose. And, as the wife of our County Mayor, she was the First Lady of Cumberland County. Together Allen and Rebecca carried on a full life, helping and supporting each other in all their activities and duties. From the way they both handled it, unless you had the inside information about Rebecca’s illness, you would never have known she was even sick. Neither she nor Allen made a fuss about it. They just dealt with it and kept going.   There’s just too much to say about this to put it all in one devotional message. So, I will conclude this portion of the story tomorrow. For today, just consider the courageous and inspirational examples of these four great ladies, and then go and do likewise. Live life fully, with joy, enthusiasm, and hope.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Action makes a difference”   Within my circle of friends, I am one of four men who are all recent widowers. We are all in roughly the same age group (mid-50s to mid-70s), we are all Christians, and we are all professional men who still have a lot of life to live and a lot of good we can do for others.   One of the men lost his wife five years ago, another three years ago, for myself it was five months ago, and for the fourth it was only a couple of weeks ago. So, we’re all in different places on this journey of grieving the loss of a much-loved life partner, and then having to figure out how to continue living in a meaningful way. It has been helpful and therapeutic for me to have these friendships as we all try to help each other through perhaps the deepest valley in life that any man will ever have to walk through.   One important truth that has been reinforced for me by the two friends who are further along on this journey than I am, and which is also stressed by every grief counselor and in every book about the grief of losing your spouse is “You will get through this. It will hurt and it will be hard, but you will get through it.” Another important truth is “You have to live. You have to move forward in life. It is essential for you to take some positive, constructive steps every day to move forward. You have to grieve and move forward at the same time because if you don’t, all you are doing is grieving – and that becomes emotional quicksand.” That advice is essentially the practical application of Hebrews 12:1-2: Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep moving forward.   Those two important truths provide essential guidance for a grieving spouse, but they are also important truths for all of us and for life in general. Whatever it is you are dealing with, do something about it. Action makes a difference. Doing something is better than doing nothing.   This is where renewed hope comes from. Optimism is the belief that things can potentially get better, but optimism is often ill-defined and little more than wishful thinking. Hope is optimism plus action. Hope does something to make the situation better. Hope is having the will and then finding the way. It is perseverance through tough times that leads you to better times.   Today I told you about four men whose wives are now in heaven and the men are therefore in various stages of moving forward into the next season of life. Doing so in a healthy way requires action and perseverance. Tomorrow, I want to tell you about the four wives. They are four examples of action and perseverance applied in a different way and with a different, but inspirational, outcome.   The lesson for today is: Whatever it is you are dealing with in life, do something about it. Action makes a difference.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…: Colossians 3:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Rational compassion is best”   This morning, we will continue our thinking from a previous devotional regarding how it is possible for us as Christians to exhibit the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as Paul calls for in Colossians 3:12, in such a way that it helps a suffering person to feel better and gives them renewed hope.   In his great book, “Build the Life you Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier” Arthur Brookes draws a distinction between sympathy, empathy, and rational compassion. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone who is in physical or emotional pain, or to whom some unfortunate or bad thing has happened. Sympathy is a normal healthy human emotion and it is one we should feel when we encounter someone dealing a with sad situation. To be unfeeling about the misfortune of others is an indication of emotional dysfunction. Sympathy is good.   But empathy is better. Empathy is more than just recognizing someone else’s pain but actually feeling it along with them. It is putting yourself into their shoes and imagining what they must be feeling, to the point that you are feeling it too. Empathy is better than sympathy but it is also potentially dangerous. When you are empathic you are experiencing all your own trials in life, and now you are experiencing theirs as well. That can get heavy. Especially if you are an empathic person by nature and tend to take on lots of pain and sorrow from lots of other people.   Rational compassion is the way to bless people and avoid the pitfalls of empathy. Rational compassion recognizes the suffering of others, cares about their suffering, even feels their pain. Then it goes one step further and, if possible, it does something to help alleviate or lessen their suffering. That’s compassion. The rational part is that we recognize that we cannot eliminate the other person’s pain and suffering. We can only help them with it. The sad fact is that this is a broken world and from time-time-time, we all suffer in many ways.   Rational compassion moves beyond empathy by adding action that makes a real and meaningful difference. As a Christian with the Holy Spirit in your heart, you already have all the tools you need to help a suffering person find a sense of renewed hope. Sympathy and empathy are good and needed, but rational compassion is best.     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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit.” Proverbs 15:13 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Lighten up, Francis!”   The other day I was looking through family photos and I came across one of my wife Linda, looking directly into the camera and sticking her tongue out. It was actually a fairly recent photo, perhaps a year old. So, it was taken near the end of her life as she was rapidly declining in health. But there she was, mugging for the camera and having fun.   That picture reminded me of another time many years ago when I was taking a break from being a pastor and we were members of a large church in our town. I was the teacher of a Sunday school class and Linda was a member of my class. Sometimes, if I was getting a little too serious about something I was teaching, and was being a little preachy and overly pious, she would make that same face, sticking out her tongue and causing the rest of the class to bust out laughing. It helped to get me off my high horse and to lighten up a little. She was always doing things like that. Linda loved to goof around and have fun, even when she wasn’t feeling well. Her playful attitude always served to brighten up the mood in the room for everyone else.   In the last two devotionals we thought about ways in which we can lighten our own moods and thereby improve our mindset. We thought about avoiding emotional monkey traps, as well as people who could be described as nattering nabobs of negativism. Today I want us to think about other ways we could potentially lighten the mood a bit.   Being playful like Linda is a good one. Another one that I enjoy is reading newspaper comic strips. I love them. I’m one of those dinosaur people who still has a physical newspaper delivered to his house every day. I especially love the Sunday paper because it has what we used to call “The Sunday Funnies.” I’m talking about the comics section – large and in color. My favorite comic strip of all-time is “Calvin and Hobbes.” Although it isn’t published anymore, I have a Calvin and Hobbes collection and I read one or two of those comic strips from my collection almost every day.   The term “Lighten up, Francis” comes from a scene in the 1981 movie “Stripes” starring comedian Bill Murray. The line was said by a hardcore drill Sargent to one of the characters in the movie who was being entirely too tense and too serious. The guy hated to be called “Francis” and he threatened to kill anyone who called him that. So, the drill Sargent got right in his face, nose-to-nose, and snarled, “Lighten up, Francis!”   Many of us need to lighten up a little. It would do us good. Maybe your thing isn’t walking around making funny faces at your spouse (Linda), and maybe your thing isn’t a daily dose of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips (me). But there are certainly other things you could do that will put a smile on your face today. So, lighten up a little, Francis.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t make friends with an angry person, and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in s snare.” Proverbs 22:24-25 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Avoid nattering nabobs of negativism”   Today I want to continue our thinking from yesterday about avoiding the emotional monkey traps in life (or getting out of one once you’re in it). In yesterday’s devotional we thought about the guidance from Psalm 42:5, Philippians 4:8, and other passages like them which teach us to fill our minds and hearts with uplifting, positive things that promote Godly virtues and Biblical thinking.   That’s all about putting good things in. But sometimes the answer is to take bad influences out (and then replace them with good). Bad influences and toxic people pollute our minds and hearts. They poison our thinking and often lead us into those emotional monkey traps we thought about yesterday. Worse, as Proverbs 22:24-25 warns, over time we can become like those we associate with. The Apostle Paul taught this as well in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Sometimes there is negative stuff that has to be dealt with and removed so we can have a positive attitude and a sense of peace.   The presidential speech-writer for Richard Nixon, William Safire, once coined the phrase “Nattering nabobs of negativism” to describe critics who constantly found fault with everything the President did. The word “nabob” has been around for hundreds of years, dating back to the 1600s in England. It described snooty rich people who looked down upon and were critical of everyone they considered to be beneath them in social standing. They were arrogant, unkind, and incessantly critical. They were nabobs and they were constantly nattering.   Nattering nabobs of negativism are a toxic presence in our lives and we need to remove them, or at least counter their influence on us, for the sake of our own sanity. If you don’t, they will drive you crazy, steal your joy, and perhaps even lead you to be like them.   So, first, don’t be a nattering nabob of negativism yourself. Second, pray for those who are. And third, take the steps necessary to mitigate their influence in your life. It’s hard to be upbeat, positive, and hopeful if somebody keeps blocking your sunny day with their dark cloud of despair.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Avoid the emotional monkey traps”   Are you familiar with the monkey trap? The monkey trap is a hollowed-out coconut that has a hole in the top that is just wide enough for a monkey to insert his extended hand into. Inside the coconut is a small pile of rice. The coconut is then chained to a stake in the ground. A hungry monkey will insert his narrow, extended hand into the small opening in the top of the coconut and grab a fist full of rice. But then he discovers that he cannot pull his closed fist with the rice back out of the coconut – the closed fist is too wide. To get his hand back out he will have to open his fist and let go of the rice – which he won’t do. Instead, he stubbornly holds onto the rice and remains trapped by the chained coconut. The monkey hunters then simply walk up and grab the monkey, who then becomes dinner.   There is an emotional monkey trap that we sometimes allow ourselves to get trapped in. We grab ahold of a negative emotion and cling to it, ruminate on it, and refuse to let it go. If we would let it go, we could simply withdraw our mind from the trap and be on our way, but stubbornly we cling to it instead and remain trapped by it. The negativity then ruins our day and perhaps damages relationships when all the time, we could simply choose to let it go. But we don’t. We won’t.   Have you noticed that when someone offends you or is unkind in some way, or you experience something unpleasant, you tend to ruminate on that thing and you can’t seem to get it out of your mind? You can receive nine compliments and one criticism and which will your mind focus on, the nine compliments or the one criticism? You know the answer. We quickly forget the compliments and become preoccupied with the criticism. Welcome to the emotional monkey trap.   What’s the solution? How do we avoid or get out of the emotional monkey trap? The Bible tells us in Psalm 42:5, and Philippians 4:8, and in many other passages – praise God; thank God; fill your mind with the positive things of God; read Scripture; listen to Christian music; count your blessings; hug a baby; pet a puppy; have some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (this one may not be in the Bible but it’s a really good idea anyway).   There’s a whole world full of happy, joyful, and enjoyable thoughts and experiences we can choose to focus on rather than stewing over negative stuff. It’s difficult to find renewed hope if we allow our minds to be filled with things that are not hopeful, positive, and uplifting.   Avoid the emotional monkey traps of life. Stop being so stubborn. Open that fist, let go of the negative, and then move on in life in a better frame of mind.   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

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571