Light and Momentary Troubles by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min
This has been a week to remember.
It was a joy to attend our youngest son’s engagement party on Saturday night. We barely escaped the bad weather in Dallas to make it to Washington D.C. for the festivities, but we arrived in time to celebrate the happy couple!
However, we were supposed to return to DFW on Sunday, and after about ten plane cancellations, I am writing this devotion on Wednesday from a hotel room in Oxen Hill, Maryland. I am out of clothes, meds, and longing to sleep in my own bed.
This has been a bittersweet week. While stranded in D.C. I learned that my college roommate’s husband passed away, and after wishing him a happy birthday on Facebook, was told that another friend from college died last year. I also found out that yet another friend from my early ministry days has cancer. This news puts my travel woes into perspective. In comparison, my issues are, as the Apostle Paul described, “light and momentary troubles.”
The Bible never promised we would be without difficulties. They should be expected. But how do we handle the inconveniences that throw us off our game? Do we give them more attention than they deserve? Do we walk around miserably, complaining to anyone who will listen, or do we make the best of the circumstances?
We didn’t make it into our hotel room until 4:00 a.m. this morning after a long, unproductive night at the airport. Yet, I choose to be thankful for a warm room and a bed to sleep in.
The airline put us up at the Gaylord Hotel at Washington National Harbor. It’s a beautiful place that I have never seen before, so we walked around for a few minutes and took in the snow-covered scenery by the Potomac River. I always love a new adventure, so it was fun to check out the sights!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
How do you handle light and momentary troubles?
Even though our stay was extended beyond what we had planned, I have come to praise God for the delay and to make the best of our light and momentary trouble. If we trust God, we know He is allowing it for our good.
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