Daily
Devotional

Blackberries cover the fence along our farm all the way to the river. The hedge is six feet high and three feet across. Each summer, our family and friends fill buckets with sweet, juicy berries to make cobblers, pies, and jams. Freezers are stocked with enough berries to make pies for potluck dinners all year long.  

Those berries do not cost a penny, though we often pay with thorns in our fingers and scratches on our legs and arms. God is very generous with those wonderful berries, but Satan is also generous with the thorns. If you want the berries, you have to work around the thorns.  

The berries remind me of God’s blessings to us each day, and the thorns can be likened to the trials He allows to come our way. We have to choose if we will still seek after His gifts and serve Him in spite of the struggle with the thorns. The heat, labor, and pain of picking in the berry patch at times seem more than we can bear. Yet, if we want the berries badly enough, we persevere.

Our focus verse speaks of a time when God proved the Children of Israel through trials. When He allows “thorns” in our lives today, He is also proving us, to see if we will remain faithful to Him. If we start to weaken, He reminds us of those “cobblers” and “pies”—the blessings and the answered prayers that surely await us if we continue in obedience. He also reminds us that He is right beside us, so we can gather courage to go on.

We must love God enough to trust Him in spite of the trials. In fact, times of trial are when we need to trust Him the most! We have to trust that He will give grace to bear the suffering. Remember, He is also very generous in giving blessings along the way. Take time today not only to thank God for His gifts, but also to praise Him for His faithful presence in the trials.