But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Romans 9:20
RECOMMENDED READING: ECCLESIATES 6:10-12 “10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”
COMMENTS: Have you ever tried to have a rational conversation when emotions and opinion run strong? The conversation starts out ok but unchecked digresses to shouting, each trying to convince the other they are right and other is wrong. How about doing so with a toddler or, well, how about with a teenager or even a mate?
No one likes to be told they are wrong, especially in public or related to something they have done for many years. No one likes to be told what they do or relationships they may have with certain people is wrong or destructive or even dangerous.
So, is it better to avoid conflict and ignore concerns and dangers those we care about or concerned about? Is there a better way to express those concerns with hope of persuading them to change?
Well, as I reflect in a few times I was the one needing convinced and times I was the one trying to convince, I also realize God’s Holy Spirit continues to work hard trying to convince you and me to change and draw closer to Him and further from satan and his mischief. Further from the world’s lures and empty promises and closer to living and following Christ’s example and the Holy Spirit’s lead.
No one except Christ lived on this earth without sinning. You and I are infinitely far from living His perfect example. So that means none of us are qualified or worthy to judge each other. Sometimes we may come across as judging others when we are only trying to guide them down a better path. So, when does sharing concerns stop and judging start? Maybe reflecting on how God has dealt with us over the years and how we have responded to Him. There is a time to express concerns, there is a time to instruct by example, there is a time to seek help from others. There is also a time to back off and simply pray and let God do His work without our help. THAT IS THE HARDEST FOR A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT, BUT NECESSARY. Otherwise, the likely result is to alienate those we care about from us and further entrench them in behavior and choices that may be destructive or just harmful.
Well, Solomon also has something to say about arguing with God. “Ecc 6:10-11”. Have you ever tried to convince God you were right when you knew in your heart He was right and you were wrong? How futile is that? Well, maybe it was futile but might have been necessary to convince yourself to shut-up and listen. Consider just how patient He was then and still is to endure our rebellion and hard hearts and stubbornness when He could destroy us in a heart beat or let us end up in the belly of a whale like Jonah. But also consider ways He did get our attention when we were headstrong.
God won’t be ignored or refused or disobeyed forever. Sooner or later we will face the consequences of our actions unless we repent, seek His mercy and forgiveness, and start down the path of obedience and away from the path of disobedience. Down a path to eternal life and joy and love and away from the path to death and misery and bitterness and hate.
Pour out your thoughts and concerns to God. But do so ready to trust in His will (Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 4:16). AMEN? AMEN!
“To obey God’s will is to find the fulfillment of our lives.” David Watson
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 207 blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present.
You may also access my facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/
My hope and prayer is, they will become a source of encouragement and tools in ministry for you.
Published by donsdevotions
Don McDaniel - Who am I?
Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever.
Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me.
I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private.
However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool.
Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry.
He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 .
I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine.
I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward.
Don & Arlene McDaniel
In His Service,
Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ )
You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials. View all posts by donsdevotions
donsdevotions 