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MEDITATION:

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “He Chose the Nails.”

What do you say we have a chat about graveclothes? Sound like fun? Sound like a cheery topic? Hardly. Make a list of depressing subjects, and burial garments is somewhere between IRS audits and long-term dental care. No one likes graveclothes. No one discusses graveclothes. Have you ever spiced up dinner-table chat with the question, “What are you planning to wear in your casket?” Most folks don’t discuss graveclothes. The apostle John, however, was an exception. Ask him, and he’ll tell you how he came to see burial garments as a symbol of triumph. He didn’t always see them that way. A tangible reminder of the death of his best friend, Jesus, they used to seem like a symbol of tragedy. But on the first Easter Sunday, God took clothing of death and made it a symbol of life. Could he do the same for you? Could he take what today is a token of tragedy and turn it into a symbol of triumph?

We all face tragedy. What’s more, we’ve all received the symbols of tragedy. Yours might be a telegram from the war department, an ID bracelet from the hospital, a scar, or a court subpoena. We don’t like these symbols, nor do we want these symbols. Like wrecked cars in a junkyard, they clutter up our hearts with memories of bad days. But could God use such things for something good? How far can we go with verses like Romans 8:28 that says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him”? Does “everything” include tumors and tests and tempers and terminations? John would answer yes. John would tell you that God can turn any tragedy into a triumph, if only you will wait and watch. Could I challenge you with a little exercise? Remove the word everything from the verse and replace it with the symbol of your own tragedy. In hospital stays God works for the good. In divorce papers God works for the good. In a prison term God works for the good. If God can change John’s life through a tragedy, could it be he will use a tragedy to change yours?

PRAYER:

Written by Carla Harding, a contemporary Christian author.

Jesus, open my eyes to perceive You, realign my mind to believe You, and reawaken my heart to receive You, now and throughout the day to come. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

The Purpose In The Pain: Matt Hybarger.  Written by Matt Hybarger in 2015.
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