Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

"In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"¹

In his book, Life Changes, James Hefley writes about Barry Luppin who was just twenty-six when a rare nerve disease sent him into the world of silence. Unable to pursue the law career he had planned, he drifted aimlessly for eight years bemoaning his deafness.

Then he determined, in his own words, to "put my chin up and fight." He learned to lip read and went into the auto leasing business. The business prospered into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

Barry never allowed his handicap to keep him from normal work. When a customer calls, his secretary picks up an extension phone. She hears the caller and mouths the words silently to Barry who sits nearby. He replies in normal speech never letting on that he is stone deaf.

"If you have a physical handicap, you can run into a corner and hide," says Barry, "or you can just try harder than the next man and make a success of yourself."

In many ways life is what we make of it. If we choose to live in harmony with God's will and his purpose for our lifeâ€"no matter what our circumstancesâ€"our life can then be an investment not only in this life but also in eternity.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to see what my God-given life purpose is and live in harmony with that and your will. I come to you as I amâ€"warts and allâ€"and trust my life to you. Please make something beautiful of my life. And in the words of the hymn writer, 'Here's my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for your courts above.' Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 56:11 (NIV).

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