A casual reading of these verses might lead us to believe that God wants us to be sure of the difference between the divine and humans. “My ways are higher than your ways” is a pretty strong delineation between God and us. However, I do not think God is making a show of his power. This whole passage is labeled “a hymn of joy and triumph.” Israel will be restored. We cannot purchase God’s grace, but he gives it freely. His covenant with Israel will be glorified. All good news here. The next few verses are a call to repentance: seek the Lord, let the wicked forsake their way, return to the Lord, and he abundantly pardons. Again, all good news.

The problem with us humans is we tend to be dissatisfied with all this good news, and we ask “why”? How can God do these things? Why would He want to after his children have been disobedient and abandoned Him?

There are no answers to our questions, and the next verses, 8 and 9, tell us we never will understand. My thoughts and ways are higher than your ways, He says.

Most human beings are naturally curious. We want to understand how things work. We want to understand why certain things occur. We want to understand what motivates certain individuals to behave a certain way. And we can, to a certain extent, using scientific methods. We have found explanations for things that puzzled human beings for hundreds of years. Knowledge can grow. We can learn new things.

Understanding, however, is different. There are things that are beyond human understanding. The miracles that Jesus performed are examples. How can Jesus walk on water, how can water become wine, how can the dead live again? Think Lazarus here. We simply cannot understand. So, we are left with faith: faith that God’s plan is better than our plan, faith that He loves and cares for us, faith that ultimately, we will come into His presence. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.

I do not think I can stop being curious and wanting to learn new things, but I can accept the truth that I will never understand everything, and that, too, is part of God’s plan.

Heavenly Father, so many times our cry is a loud “WHY? Even in our pleading, we know that only You have the full picture for each of us. Let us be thankful for Your love and Your guidance, trusting that you will lead us where we should go.

Amen

This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Often, this verse is used when things are challenging. It reminds us of God’s will and our inability to know all. It reminds us that even the challenges of war, death, and illness are part of God’s kingdom.

I do think these kinds of sentiments bring comfort in challenging times, but today, let us focus on being a tiny part of God’s creation. If we allow ourselves to contemplate that we are each a small creation inside of all of God’s creation, then we begin to see a bigger picture. I am not an ocean, but one drop in the ocean.

There have been innumerable seasons in the kingdom of God and innumerable purposes. I am one drop in that throughout time. Who am I to decide what happens to all the other drops in the waves I ride through life? If I am honest with myself, I do not control what happens to me. I only exist in the context of all the other drops in an ocean.

The scope of this is almost incomprehensible, so let us simplify it. If we look at a glass of water on the counter and each molecule of water represents a person, then what happens if we pour the water out? In unison, the molecules pour out bound to flow together. Do the drops of water fight with each other? Do some think to themselves, “If only I were ice, I could resist this dreadful pouring?” Do some pray to remain in the comfort of the glass,s fearing the unknown of the journey ahead? Do some sit in the glass contemplating all of the drops that have left them behind? As some of the drops evaporate, do others remain, becoming increasingly salty?

Ecclesiastes is a book of wisdom written by King Solomon. It contemplates man’s inability to comprehend the complexities of life and find meaning without an understanding of God. Perhaps if we view ourselves as one tiny drop of water in an ocean, instead of kicking and screaming about what we want, we should ride the waves and see where God takes us.

Lord, may I follow the flow of your spirit, bringing your living water to those who thirst. May you pour out your spirit upon us so that we can do your will in your creation. May we fulfill your purpose even when it is too big for us to comprehend, Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Susan Daves.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Friends, here is an important and timely question: where does your soul find rest? Who, or what, is your rock and salvation? Your fortress?

Rest seems to be a hot commodity right now. Sleep aids are estimated to be a 65 billion dollar market, and insomnia is being identified as a public health issue in America. I think it is fair to say that a sense of restlessness pervades our culture.

So how about you? Are you plagued by unrest, by restlessness? Or is your soul at rest?

The psalmist has a word for the weary. He understands what it is like to be assaulted and assailed from every direction, to feel shaken to the core, and to cry out for help and relief—for rest. And this psalm suggests that he also knows the temptation to seek a sense of security in the false gods of wealth and power. He cautions against that temptation, because these things are not soul-giving, and rest will not be found in them.

Rest is found in God. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make God our fortress, our rock and salvation, and thereby, our rest—not wealth or power, not material possessions, or governments, or Facebook friends who agree with us about everything. We may seek peace and rest from all of these things, but we will not find it. Our souls find rest in God. I don’t think that means we are promised physical comfort, or even physical protection. In fact, I think finding true rest means surrendering all of our fears to God, even our fears for our physical well-being. But we are offered rest for our souls when we lose our “selves” by seeking and surrendering to God.

So today, where are you seeking rest? And where might you find it?

God, our rock and salvation, our holy fortress, you desire to give us rest. May we give ourselves and all of our cares and fears to you, that our souls might find peace in your presence. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you. We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

Now, let's hear this week's scriptures.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Waiting for God’s goodness doesn’t always feel like helpful advice. When we are experiencing challenging life moments, such as loss. When a loved one is in the midst of a major medical crisis, we want action, not to be told to wait. When we look at the news and feel weighted down by all the negatives that are happening, it feels way too passive to wait. Hearing God’s time is not our time brings more frustration than hope because we want something to happen right now! This is how I sometimes have felt when like is really hard. Have you ever felt that way?

Perhaps I feel this way because waiting and patience are not one of my strong character traits. I want to do something, anything, to make things better. I want God to fix things right now. I equate waiting with doing nothing.

But waiting for the Lord is not a passive activity. Waiting doesn’t mean that we get to sit around and do nothing until God fixes the mess that we are in. Waiting for the Lord is an active and often challenging response to life.

It is anticipating that God is already acting in this situation. It is celebrating every place we see the goodness of the Lord breaking forth. And, it is a reminder that we need to ask what can we do. Waiting is a call to work with God however we can in our particular situation, knowing God will give us the strength and courage we need.

Sometimes this is a renewed call to prayer and surrender, trusting in God, because there is nothing more we can do. But most of the time it is a call to vision a new and better place and ask what can I do, with God’s help to lean into that vision.

I think of the young person I knew who was struggling with cancer in the bone in his leg. Chemotherapy and radiation slowed the progression but finally there came the time when the doctor had to tell him and his family that the only option left was to remove his leg just below the knee. It was devastating news but as he waited for healing to take place, he was not passive. He loved to snow ski and he was determined to be on the slopes again. His grandmother told me how he researched how to make that happen. He reached out to others who had gone through similar health crises. He lived believing life was good, that God would give him the strength to go forward. The last I heard, he was again skiing.

So, life can be better than it is right now. God is at work and we need to anticipate the good God is doing. We are also asked to be a part of that work open to God’s leading.

Loving God, give us strength to actively wait on You. You are always working at making a new and good thing happen as we will just join our hearts and lives with yours. AMEN.

This devotional was written by Bill Green and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love...

Scholars have debated for centuries what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” might have been. Was it a physical ailment? An emotional burden? An enemy? We don’t know—and in many ways, we don’t need to. What matters is that Paul knew what it was to plead with God for relief and to hear instead a word of grace: “My grace is enough for you.”

Caregivers can relate deeply to this passage. We, too, have wrestled with burdens that won’t go away. We may have begged God for healing for our loved one, not because we don’t want to care, but because the weight is so heavy and unrelenting. And yet, our hearts resist the idea of being “relieved” through loss. It’s a complicated mixture of love, weariness, and sometimes guilt, because we feel both devotion and resentment in the same breath.

I think of the time we cared for our disabled daughter through two weeks of blizzard conditions with no power. No light, no heat, no comfort—just the raw exhaustion of trying to keep her alive in circumstances beyond our control.

We don’t always come to love these situations. But we can, like Paul, learn to accept weakness, stress, insults from those who don’t understand, medical crises, battles with insurance companies, and even disasters—because in our weakness, we discover a surprising strength. It’s not our own strength but the resilience of God’s Spirit working in us and the support of those God sends alongside us.

Lord, I am weak. You know how weary I get, how torn between love and frustration, how guilty I sometimes feel for the mixed emotions of caregiving. Remind me that I don’t have to be strong on my own. Let your grace be enough for me today, and let your power rest on me, even in my weakness. In the name of Christ our Lord, Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

This oft-quoted verse is part of a letter from Jeremiah to the Israelites in captivity in Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah prophesies that they should not give up hope; they will not be captives in a foreign land forever. Jeremiah says they should build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. They should marry and have children and in general contribute to the life of the city where they live. If they do not allow themselves to be misled by false prophets, then after 70 years (a rhetorical number signifying a generation), they will be brought back from captivity.

Have you ever been on a path you planned and worked to see through to the end goal when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, God redirected your path to a place you never anticipated?

This has happened to me many times throughout my life. I’m not normally an indecisive person, but in college I changed undergraduate majors twice and graduate majors three times (all within the same university), but still. . .

As newlyweds, my husband planned to work In his field in the Knoxville area, where I already had a job I loved and our families lived. But then Jim was offered a job with a very good company in Wheeling, West Virginia. Neither of us knew anything about Wheeling, and I doubt that city is on anyone’s list of dream destinations, but off we went.

Years later we were happily established in the Blount County area with daughters who were in college. I expected to retire from my job there is a few more years, but once again our plan was altered and we ended up in McDonough, GA. Again we knew no one and nothing about this place, but it was convenient for my husband to reach the 10 sales representatives he managed throughout South Georgia. Off we went once more.

We actually thought we might get to stay there until retirement, but again God had a different plan. Jim was transferred to the Nashville area, and we chose to live in Franklin because he needed easy access to Interstates and hopefully, less traffic than further north.

Finally we did end up in East Tennessee, close to family, especially young grandchildren, and longtime friends. We were so thankful to have the opportunity to return to our “home.”

Looking back on that journey of unexpected twists and turns, I see God at work. In going to new places where we knew no one, we found churches that both nourished and challenged us spiritually. We had wonderful friends and neighbors with whom I stay in contact. We had career opportunities we had never dreamed of. In other words, what we thought of as “exile” became opportunities to flourish. I am so thankful for God’s direction in our lives.

You will likely never be exiled, but if God’s plan for your life leads in unexpected directions, follow in faith. God’s promise to give us hope and a future always creates the best path.

Dear God, as human beings, we tend to think we know best how to live and what to do. In truth, your plan is always best. Help us keep our ears and hearts open to your guidance and give us strength to serve you and others wherever you lead us.

This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing...

I believe that a lot of scriptures give us only part of the story and beg the question, “To what end?” This very familiar passage from Romans is a prime example for me. It brings to mind someone who works out to get stronger physically. Weight produces resistance and resistance builds strength and strength produces a more fit and healthy body. But to what end? To admire in the mirror or to put to work, better able to accomplish tasks?

So to what end does trouble produce endurance and endurance produce character and hope? To admire in our spiritual mirror for how strong we have become? No, I believe Paul provides us an answer in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4...

3 May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! He is the compassionate Father and God of all comfort. 4 He’s the one who comforts us in all our trouble so that we can comfort other people who are in every kind of trouble. We offer the same comfort that we ourselves received from God.

In Romans we read that trouble produces endurance, character, and hope. In 2 Corinthians we read that in this trouble, God also provides us comfort. The endurance, character, and hope equip us to “comfort other people who are in every kind of trouble. We offer the same comfort that we ourselves received from God.”

Have you endured the grief of losing a loved one and been able to move on to hope? Offer the comfort that you received from God to others facing that same grief. Have you navigated the recovery from financial woes, or overcome the pain of losing a job or a relationship? You are equipped with comfort and hope to help others facing the same problems.

I believe that every trouble we endure equips us and should compel us to offer the strength and comfort we have acquired to others. In this way we build up others so that they, in turn, can offer the same comfort that we ourselves received from God.

Are you looking for a gift that you can offer to others? What trouble have you endured that, in the end, made you stronger? What a precious gift you have to share!

Father God, we are forever grateful for your presence and comfort you have offered to us in times of our own troubles. Let us be always willing and eager to share that same comfort to our neighbors. Amen

This devotional was written and read by Charlie Barton.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.