“Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.”
Philemon 1:7, NLT

One of the reasons I felt so stupid about locking the keys in the car again, was because I knew an hour and fifteen minutes of precious time was about to be wasted.  Like most of you, my days are usually jam-packed. So many things to do, places to go, people to see. On this particular day, I really felt like I had a lot on my plate getting ready for a  Nicaragua mission trip. Thinking an hour and fifteen minutes was lost, I allowed panic and stress to rule the day.

Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT) is a verse that has always made a deep impression on my heart.

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

The verses tells us to use our time wisely and I felt I was wasting it sitting under that portico in the pouring rain.

But God.

As I sat there praying and fessing up for wasting time, the Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me of Philemon 1:7:

“Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.”(NLT)

Followed closely by Psalm 46:10, “…be still and know that I am God.”

And then, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

And right then it hit me. This time wasn’t a waste. Number one, I was sitting here communing with the God of the universe! That’s never wasted time! And He was teaching me a life lesson. All over again. Then He topped it off by giving me an idea.

One of my favorite things to communicate via Daily Dose of Encouragement are spiritual lessons learned in the everyday trenches of life.

Grabbing my phone again and pulling up Notes from my Apps, I began to record this week’s Daily Doses.

Sitting under the portico, watching the cold ice-filled rain, tears began running down my face all over again.

God really does work all things together for good…when we let Him.

Until tomorrow,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda