These devotions are based on CS Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters. The book is a series of letters written from a senior devil to his junior devil. They provide instruction for the junior devil on how to tempt the human he has been assigned.
“The Enemy’s human partisans have all been plainly told by Him that suffering is an essential part of what He calls Redemption; so that a faith which is destroyed by a war or a pestilence cannot really have been worth the trouble of destroying.” (Lewis)
As a high schooler, my dream was to play college football. I wanted to achieve this goal so badly I dedicated nearly the entirety of four years to it. Outside of football season, I usually worked out 2-3 times and ran once a day. As a high school boy, I regularly woke up at sunrise to run hills before my weight training class. When we had winter or summer break off from school, I spent my time traveling to college campuses all over the Southeastern United States to compete in camps and showcases. By the end of my football career, I came to understand the phrase, “no pain, no gain” very well. This phrase is widely accepted when used for encouragement to reach goals, but it is rarely understood in life.
The question so many people have in difficult times is, “why is this happening to me?” As humans, we often fail to see the big picture. Our reasoning is hindered when our moods and emotions are not pleasant. In uncomfortable situations, our tendency is to seek the fastest way out. However, that does not allow us to grow in difficult situations. If I had walked out of the hundreds of hard workouts I endured when I was training, I would never have been a collegiate athlete. I would have limited myself greatly. Just as my hard workouts produced desirable results, our difficult situations in life can produce good things when they are approached correctly. Luckily, God has given us instructions and reassurance of this concept.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -James 1:2–4 ESV
“The Enemy’s human partisans have all been plainly told by Him that suffering is an essential part of what He calls Redemption; so that a faith which is destroyed by a war or a pestilence cannot really have been worth the trouble of destroying.” (Lewis)
As a high schooler, my dream was to play college football. I wanted to achieve this goal so badly I dedicated nearly the entirety of four years to it. Outside of football season, I usually worked out 2-3 times and ran once a day. As a high school boy, I regularly woke up at sunrise to run hills before my weight training class. When we had winter or summer break off from school, I spent my time traveling to college campuses all over the Southeastern United States to compete in camps and showcases. By the end of my football career, I came to understand the phrase, “no pain, no gain” very well. This phrase is widely accepted when used for encouragement to reach goals, but it is rarely understood in life.
The question so many people have in difficult times is, “why is this happening to me?” As humans, we often fail to see the big picture. Our reasoning is hindered when our moods and emotions are not pleasant. In uncomfortable situations, our tendency is to seek the fastest way out. However, that does not allow us to grow in difficult situations. If I had walked out of the hundreds of hard workouts I endured when I was training, I would never have been a collegiate athlete. I would have limited myself greatly. Just as my hard workouts produced desirable results, our difficult situations in life can produce good things when they are approached correctly. Luckily, God has given us instructions and reassurance of this concept.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -James 1:2–4 ESV