Burt had an extremely hazardous mission. He was an American scout in World War II who had been instructed to assess what appeared to be a wide stretch of vacant plain in German-controlled territory. He stealthily scanned the area for traces of the enemy.

Suddenly, Burt heard gunfire and was ambushed by German troops hidden in the grass ahead. The American forces behind him opened fire, and a fierce interchange ensued. Burt was hit by several enemy bullets and tried to return to his company. But the bullets had paralyzed him from the waist down. There in the middle of the plain he lay bleeding. He thought for sure he would die on the battlefield.

Amidst the fighting, Burt saw a burly German soldier crawling towards him. Burt thought maybe he was going to take him out of his misery. But the soldier picked him up and carried him toward the American line. The firing ceased. When the German had brought Burt to safety, he walked back to his side and the firing resumed. Burt would never forget the German soldier’s selfless, compassionate act for the rest of his life.

We live in a fast-paced, greed-driven world where just about everyone is looking out for themselves. When misfortune happens, it’s easy to concede the situation is hopeless and complain that no one cares. But we know better than that, for we have a God Who cares and comforts us in our afflictions. The next time you feel like no one cares, remember God knows your circumstances and offers Himself as relief. Cast your cares upon Him, and He will carry you through.

Man may dismiss compassion from his heart, but God never will. — William Cowper

Devotional by Pastor Jim Scudder, Jr.

Luke 2 tells us the shepherds were “sore afraid” when they saw the angel. If you think they were scared, I’ll bet their sheep were terrified. But we don’t read about the sheep getting all worked up about the situation when the shepherds left them behind. They didn’t get together and have a meeting about how their food should be rationed in the event the shepherds didn’t return. Do you know why? After spending so much time with the shepherds, they trusted them.

But let’s use our imaginations and pretend one sheep started to worry about the food supply in the shepherds’ absence. Do you think it would be any better off than the sheep which trusted the shepherds? Of course not. The worried sheep would get the same pasture as the other sheep, but the grass wouldn’t taste as good. Time and energy would have been needlessly spent, all without doing anything to influence the outcome.

You know, we’re a lot like sheep. We depend on God for everything. But like sheep trust their shepherd, we need to trust God. There’s no sense in worrying about every little thing, because in most cases we have no control over what happens. Worrying is a good way to make ourselves miserable, and I’m not going to let it happen to me.

Do you want to enjoy life? Turn your worries over to God. What matters is that you understand God’s going to take care of you. Your Shepherd isn’t scared, so why should you be?

It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. — George MacDonald

Devotional by Dr. James A. Scudder

Peter was in an awful mess again. Only this time it wasn’t his fault. After preaching the gospel, he wound up in prison facing execution. There he was, chained to two Roman soldiers and waiting for morning to come so they could kill him. But that night he slept like a baby. How in the world could he sleep at a time like this?

Peter believed that God knew what was best for him, whether in life or death. He was convinced God was in control. That’s why he didn’t let the inhumane conditions of the prison, the big Roman guards he was chained to, or his imminent death bother him.

Our biggest problem is second-guessing God. I hate to say it, but we sometimes think that God is not as intelligent as we are in certain situations. We’d rather scheme to get what we want than pray or wait for God to provide it. We think God wants to interfere with our lives and keep us from being happy. The truth that Peter understood and each of us must realize is that we can do nothing and God can do everything. It’s best to leave our lives in His hands.

I hope you try to put the Daily Reflections from yesterday and today to practice. It’s not easy to reverse the bad habit of worry, but thank God, it’s not impossible. Pray about your situation and dig deep into God’s Word for promises to help you live a worry-free life.

Never try to carry tomorrow’s burdens with today’s grace. — Unknown Author

Devotional by Dr. James A. Scudder

It was Friday night, which meant dinner at Grandma’s house. Little Johnny received his plate and started eating right away. His mother said, “Johnny, wait. We haven’t prayed yet.”

“I don’t have to,” said Johnny.

His mother couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “We always say prayer before eating at home.”

Johnny explained, “But this is Grandma’s house, and she knows how to cook.”

In today’s world, we worry about everything. All of us love to do it. But how many of us would like to learn how to worry less? Worrying is like sitting in an old, wooden rocking chair. There is nothing to keep you comfortable—no headrest or cushion to sit on.

Just as the rocker is uncomfortable, so is worry. Worry does not do us any good. It is uncomfortable and intensely painful. We may experience worry as a slight distraction or as a force which completely immobilizes us. There is a solution to this problem. It comes through the Word of God, and once we apply it in our lives, then we learn to worry less.

In our reading today, we learned God is in control of the very universe, yet He cares about our everyday emotional lives. Why? Because He is a God Who cares and is with us. It is one of the great things about our God. We can rest assured He will hear our problems and help us with them.

Like little Johnny, who trusted his grandmother’s cooking, we can also trust God to take care of our worries. Determine today to give them over to God, and leave the rocking chair behind.

Every evening I turn my worries over to God—He’s going to be up all night anyway. — Mary Crowley

Devotional by Dr. James A. Scudder

Once I said something to a preacher which shocked him. He asked me, “Who preaches for you when you are away from your church?”

I told him, “Most of the time, it’s my assistants. Sometimes, I’ll bring other preachers in.”

“You really do? You use your assistants?”

I wasn’t sure where he was taking the conversation, so I said, “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, it’s refreshing! Where I used to assistant pastor, they never used me once, because they were afraid that I might take the church over.”

Friends, jealousy will ruin us. It keeps us from helping others reach their full potential, and it makes us fearful of their success. We can’t allow it to have a place in our lives. Precious time is wasted worrying about whether someone else is going to get our job or be more popular than us. We’re not in charge of what happens in our lives or theirs, but God is, and He wants us to trust Him.

Take this quick jealousy test—Are you worried about losing something important to you because of somebody else? Maybe you feel your popularity, talents, or your position at church or work is being threatened by another person. Let me tell you how to deal with your feelings—remember God is in charge. Nothing can happen to you unless He allows it. Will you trust Him with the things you’re anxious about today?

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future. — Unknown Author

Devotional by Dr. James A. Scudder