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 LISTEN UP
February 1

 Bible Reading: I Kings 12:1-19

 Key Verse: Verse 19 – “So Israel rebelled against the
house of David unto this day.”
Key Words: So Israel rebelled

When we listen to the wrong people and heed their

counsel, we bring upon ourselves self-induced problems.
Who you listen to or refuse to listen to will have everything to
do with both your blessings and your cursings.
Rehoboam refused the counsel of the “old men” who
were much more experienced and had much more wisdom.
Who we listen to does matter, and many of our self-induced
trials come because we listen to those who say what we want
to hear rather than to those who tell us what we need to hear.
A man came to his pastor for help because he was
considering a divorce. The pastor counseled him to stay in the
marriage and began to show the man Scriptures which spoke
to the issue of marital commitment. He first used Ephesians
5:25, “Husbands, love your wives.” The man responded by
saying, “I don’t love her.” The pastor then turned to John
13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if
ye have love one to another.” The minister noted that they
were both Christians and should be able to at least love each
other as fellow believers. The husband replied, “We fight all
the time. The longer I stay with her the less I like her.” The
determined man of God then scrambled to Matthew 22:39, “…
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Pleadingly he
asked, “Will you at least try loving her as your next door
neighbor?” In response the man said, “Pastor, you just don’t
understand. We’re not even friends anymore.” The pastor’s
face lighted up with relief. “Well, then, I’ve got just the verse
you need.” Triumphantly he read Matthew 5:44, “…Love your
enemies, …and pray for them which …persecute you;”
This man wasn’t looking for counsel; he was looking
for someone to agree with him. People such as this are
opening the door for a self-induced trial.
What to do:
✞If you are looking for someone who agrees with
you, then get your counsel from a mirror.

********************

BITTERNESS
February 2

 Bible Reading: Genesis 27:30-40

 Key Verse: Verse 34 - “And when Esau heard the
words of his father, he cried with a great and
exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless
me, even me also, O my father."
Key Words: he cried with a great and exceeding
bitter cry

Nothing produces more self-induced trials than does

bitterness. Think of Esau, Shimei, Jonah, the Pharisees, and
the list goes on and on. Bitterness destroys, not the one we
are bitter with but, ourselves.
A thorough study of the Edomites who Esau fathered
reveals the horror of the self-induced trial which bitterness
produces.
One of the most powerful pictures of the embittered
heart is seen in Herman Melville’s character Captain Ahab in
Moby Dick. In a violent confrontation at sea, the great white
whale dubbed Moby Dick had sliced off Ahab’s leg. Ahab had
been carried to his bunk in the bowels of the ship and there he
lay, clinging to life, leg absent, during the return voyage.
“For long months of days and weeks, Ahab and
anguish lay stretched together in one hammock, rounding in
midwinter that dreary, howling Patagonian Cape, then it was,
that his torn body and gashed soul bled into one another and
so interfusing, made him mad.”
Ahab was eventually fitted with a peg leg, but there
was no prosthesis for the soul. Obsessed with hate, Ahab set
his face to search out and destroy Moby Dick, whatever the
cost. He fitted a ship, hired a crew, and mounted a voyage of
vengeance which led to his death, the destruction of his ship
the “Pequod,” and the loss of all his men save one, Ishmael,
who lived to tell the tale.
Don’t let bitterness destroy you, and it will unless you
confess it and forsake it.

What to do:
✞We have a lot of people today trying to deal with
“anger management.” Anger isn’t the problem;
bitterness is. Anger is the result of bitterness.
Confess your bitterness, and you’ll get victory over
your anger.

********************

A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
February 3

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 2:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 2– “So that thou incline thine ear
unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to
understanding;”
Key Words: apply thine heart to understanding

If we fail to follow instructions or if we fail to make

sure we understand the instructions given, we are headed for
one of those self-induced problems.
Paul Harvey reported the following on his radio
broadcast for January 15, 1982: “The respected American
Medical News confirms what our For What It’s Worth
Department is about to relay. A patient complained of an
earache…his right ear. His doctor prescribed eardrops – an
antibiotic. Are you with me to here?
“The doctor prescribed eardrops for an earache. When
the patient got the eardrops prescription filled the pharmacist
wrote on the bottle: ‘Three drops in r – for right – ear.’ No
space and no punctuation. For ‘right ear,’ the instructions on
the bottle read: r – ear.
“That spells rear.
“The patient said later he knew it sounded like a
strange remedy for an earache but he had dutifully applied the
three drops to his rear for three days before the error was
discovered.”
You can’t follow correctly what you fail to understand;
and it will produce some self-induced trials.

What to do:
✞Get understanding. If not, you may never get to
the bottom of the problem.

********************

OUR CONSCIENCE
February 4

 Bible Reading: Acts 24:10-21

 Key Verse: Verse 16 - “And herein do I exercise myself,
to have always a conscience void of offence toward
God, and toward men.”
Key Words: a conscience void of offence

The conscience is a compass that guides us in our

decision-making. Now, don’t misunderstand, we always obey
God’s Word over our conscience; but a good conscience and
the Word are always in agreement. I define the conscience as
those red flags that caution us about our direction; and when
we fail to heed those flags we find ourselves in one of those
self-induced trials.
In Focus on the Family, Rolf Zettersten writes:
“A good friend in North Carolina bought a new car with a
voice-warning system.    At first Edwin was amused to hear
the soft female voice gently remind him that his seat belt
wasn't fastened... Edwin affectionately called this voice the
'little woman'.
“He soon discovered his little woman was
programmed to warn him about his gasoline. 'Your fuel level
is low,' she said one time in her sweet voice. Edwin nodded
his head and thanked her. He figured he still had enough gas
to go another 50 miles, so he kept on driving. But a few
minutes later, her voice interrupted again with the same
warning. And so it went over and over. Although he knew it
was the same recording, Edwin thought her voice sounded
harsher each time.
“Finally, he stopped his car and crawled under the
dashboard. After a quick search, he found the appropriate
wires and gave them a good yank. So much for the 'little
woman.' He was still smiling to himself a few miles later
when his car began sputtering and coughing. He ran out of
gas! Somewhere inside the dashboard, Edwin was sure he
could hear the 'little woman' laughing.”

What to do:
✞You can sear your conscience but you will be
sorry later. Heed those red flags; you’ll be glad
you did.

********************
 ENVY
February 5

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 14

 Key Verse: Verse 30 – “A sound heart is the life of
the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”
Key Words: envy the rottenness of the bones

Jealousy is when you don’t want others having what

you have; but envy is you wanting what others have. Envy is
like a cancer of the bone – it’s painful and deadly for the one
who is envious.
According to an ancient Greek legend, a certain athlete
ran well but placed second in the race. The winner was
encompassed with praise, and eventually a statue was erected
in his honor. Envy ate away at the man who had placed
second. He resented the winner, and he could think of little
else. Eventually he decided to destroy the statue of the
winner.
Night after night, he went to the statue under cover of
darkness, chiseling away at the base to weaken the
foundation. Night after night as he chiseled in violent anger,
he went too far. The heavy marble statue teetered on its base
and crashed down on the disgruntled athlete. He died
beneath the weight of the marble replica of the man he had
grown to hate.
His own envy destroyed him…and it always will.

What to do:
✞Don’t be envious of what others have. Enjoy
what you have through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 JEALOUSY
February 6

 Bible Reading: I Samuel 18:1-11

 Key Verse: Verse 8 - “And Saul was very wroth, and
the saying displeased him; and he said, They have
ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they
have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have
more but the kingdom?”
Key Words: what can he have more, but the
kingdom?

There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To

envy is to want something which belongs to another person.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour's.” (Exodus 20:17)
In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which
we possess will be taken away by another person. Although
jealousy can apply to our jobs, our possessions, or our
reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety which
comes when we are afraid that the affections of a loved one
might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our
children, will be lured away by some other person who, when
compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable and
successful.
Can you not see the jealousy of King Saul through his
words, “What can he have more, but the kingdom?” This
jealousy will produce his self-induced trial of depression and
attempted murder.
The key to victory over jealousy is in understanding
the potential in others and realizing God can use them as well
as He can use you in specific areas.
 For many years Sir Walter Scott was the leading
literary figure in the British Empire. No one could write as
well as he. Then the works of Lord Byron began to appear,
and their greatness was immediately evident. Soon an
anonymous critic praised his poems in a London Paper. He
declared that in the presence of these brilliant works of poetic
genius, Scott could no longer be considered the leading poet
of England. It was later discovered that the unnamed
reviewer had been none other than Sir Walter Scott himself!
How can you overcome jealousy…by praise, not by
putting others down. Try, or you will become a victim of self-
induced trials.

What to do:
✞Practice praising others – not criticizing others.

********************

STEALING
February 7

 Bible Reading: Malachi 3:7-18

 Key Verse: Verse 8 – “Will a man rob God? Yet ye
have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings.”
Key Words: Yet ye have robbed me

More money is robbed from God each year than from

banks, stores, or even the IRS. But those who rob from God
ultimately fail – people who steal from God are putting their
money in bags which have holes (Haggai 1:6).
Those who fail to give to God what is rightfully His are
in reality robbing themselves and produce in their own lives
many self-induced trials (Malachi 3:9).
 Zig Ziglar tells of a thief, a man named Emmanuel
Nenger. The year is 1887. The scene is a small neighborhood
grocery store. Mr. Nenger is buying some turnip greens. He
gives the clerk a $20 bill. As the clerk begins to put the money
in the cash drawer to give Nr. Nenger his change, she notices
some of the ink from the $20 bill is coming off on her fingers
which are damp from the turnip greens. She looks at Mr.
Nenger, a man she has known for years. She looks at the
smudged bill. This man is a trusted friend; she has known him
all her life; he can't be a counterfeiter. She gives Mr. Nenger
his change, and he leaves the store. But $20 is a lot of money
in 1887, and eventually the clerk calls the police. They verify
the bill as counterfeit and get a search warrant to look through
Mr. Nenger's home. In the attic they find where he is
reproducing money. He is a master artist and is painting $20
bills with brushes and paint! But also in the attic they find
three portraits Nenger had painted. They seized these and
eventually sold them at auction for $16,000 (in 1887
currency, remember) or a little more than $5,000 per
painting. The irony is that it took Nenger almost as long to
paint a $20 bill as it did for him to paint a $5,000 portrait!
It's true that Emanuel Nenger was a thief, but the person from
whom he stole the most was himself.
What a shame!

What to do:
✞Give. It is more of a blessing than receiving.

********************

LITTLE THINGS – BIG THINGS

February 8

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 17:1-8


 Key Verse: Verse 3 – "The fining pot is for silver, and
the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.”
Key Words: the fining pot is for silver

Have you given any consideration to the little things or

what we consider the little things? Let me illustrate.
Verse 1 – what good is a freezer full of food if your
family is in turmoil?
Verse 3 – what good is a purse full of silver without a
refining pot?
Verse 8 – some gifts are better than a precious
stone.
We often produce self-inflicted trials when we fail to
consider the little things in life.
The words “Thank” and “Think” hail from the same
root, reminding us that thanksgiving comes from thinking
about our blessings.
Helen Keller once said, “I have often thought it would
be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and
deaf for a few days at some time during their early adult life.
It would make him more appreciative of sight and the joys of
sound.”
Former Senator Richard Neuberger once said the
experience of contracting cancer changed him. “A change
came over me which I believe is irreversible. Questions of
prestige, of political success, of financial status, became all at
once unimportant. In their stead has come a new
appreciation of things I once took for granted – eating lunch
with a friend, scratching Muffet’s ears and listening for his
purr, the company of my wife, reading a book or magazine in
the quiet cone of my bed lamp at night, raiding the
refrigerator for a glass of orange juice or a slice of coffee cake.
For the first time I think I am actually savoring life. I shudder
when I remember all the occasions that I spoiled for myself –
even when I was in the best of health – by false pride,
synthetic values, and fancied slights.”
Stop each day and reflect on the little things in life –
you’ll be glad you did.
What to do:
✞Think and you’ll be thankful.
STRESS
February 9

 Bible Reading: Isaiah 40:18-31

Key Verse: Verse 31 – “But they that wait upon the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Key Words: they shall mount up with wings as
eagles

When I talk with people about stress much, not all, is

self-induced. Adam’s and Eve’s stress was self-induced, as
was Abraham’s in Genesis 12, along with Cain’s in Genesis 4,
as was Uzziah’s in II Chronicles 26.
How can one overcome the self-induced trials of
stress? Consider the eagle.
In Isaiah 40, we are told that by waiting on the Lord,
we will mount on wings like eagles. Eagles are majestic birds
with remarkable vision. Scientists believe their vision may be
eight times sharper than that of humans. They have powerful
feet with talons that can grip like a vise. Their beaks are
butcher-like, designed to cut and crush and tear their food.
But most of all, eagles are built for flying. They have
incredible speed, able to fly at sixty and eighty and one
hundred miles an hour. They can do rolls and loops like an
airplane doing tricks. Their wingspan extends to nearly eight
feet.
But eagles do not fly like sparrows or robins. Most
birds fly through the air by flapping their wings, but eagles
cannot flap very long. They’re built for soaring, and thus they
can go much further on little energy.
God created our planet with invisible columns of hot
air called thermals rising up here and there from the surface
of the earth. Eagles find these thermals, fly into the invisible
currents, stretch out their wings, and are lifted higher and
higher into the sky as though ascending on an elevator.
They may rise as high as fourteen thousand feet, so
high in the heavens they can not be seen with the naked eye
from earth.
When they reach those heights, they emerge from the
updraft, wings still spread, and they soar this way and that
way, downwards and sidewards, traveling for miles with very
little exertion of strength.
Don’t be under stress – be under the influence of the
Holy Spirit. It’s a lot less stressful.

What to do:
✞Wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).

********************

THE TONGUE
February 10

 Bible Reading: James 3:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 6– “And the tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that
it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the
course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
Key Word: the tongue is a fire

This is a familiar portion of Scripture but it’s vital. The

uncontrolled tongue causes us more problems than anything
else. Peter said in I Peter 3:10, “For he that will love life, and
see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his
lips that they speak no guile.”
A man working in the produce department was asked
by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied,
“Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole
heads and that’s how we sell them!”
“You mean,” she persisted, “that after all the years I’ve
shopped here, you won’t sell me half-a-head of lettuce?”
“Look,” he said, “If you like I’ll ask the manager.” She
indicated that would be appreciated, so the young man
marched to the front of the store. “You won’t believe this, but
there’s a lame-brained idiot of a lady back there who wants to
know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce.”
He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around
to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having
followed him to the front of the store. “And this nice lady was
wondering if she could buy the other half” he concluded. Later
in the day the manager cornered the young man and said,
“That was the finest example of thinking on your feet I’ve ever
seen! Where did you learn that?”
“I grew up in Grand Rapids, and if you know anything
about Grand Rapids, you know that it’s known for its great
hockey teams and its ugly women.”
The manager’s face flushed, and he interrupted, “My
wife is from Grand Rapids!” The man replied, “And which
hockey team did she play for?”
The uncontrolled tongue produces many self-induced
conflicts!!

What to do:
✞Genuinely turn your tongue over to God. That
will give others a well-needed break.
 LONELINESS
February 11

 Bible Reading: Luke 15:11-2426

 Key Verse: Verse 16 - "And he would fain have filled
his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no
man gave unto him.”
Key Words: and no man gave unto him

The prodigal went through all types of trials in his

pursuit of happiness; but in the end he found himself in
financial ruin and lonely.
The following was taken from Moody’s Anecdotes.
“Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of
Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and
get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on
these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they
will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump
back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress.
They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass.
The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot
stand, and then go over and put a rope around the sheep, and
pull the sheep up out of the jaws of death. ‘Why don't they go
down there when the sheep first gets there?’ I asked. ‘Ah!’ He
said, ‘they are so very foolish they would dash right over the
precipice and be killed if they did!’ And that is the way with
men; they won't go back to God till they have no friends and
have lost everything. If you are a wanderer I tell you that the
Good Shepherd will bring you back the moment you have
given up trying to save yourself and are willing to let Him save
you His own way.”
Often we go through self-induced trials because of our
desire to seek acceptance and companionship from the world
which leaves us desolate and in despair. Seek companionship
from others who genuinely love the Lord and desire to serve
Him.
What to do:
✞Remember, looseness always ends in loneliness.

********************

A BAD DAY
February 12

 Bible Reading: Psalm 32

 Key Verse: Verse 3 – " When I kept silence, my bones
waxed old through my roaring all the day long.”
Key Words: all the day long

David is having a bad day. In order to understand his

bad day we must understand that David is writing about the
results of his immoral relationship with Bathsheba. Bad days
“don’t just happen;” they are not the results of “bad luck.”
They are always for a reason. Many people experience bad
days because of unconfessed sin in their lives.
How can you tell when you’re going to have a bad day?
 If you wake up face down on the pavement, you’re
in for a bad day.
 If you call suicide prevention and they put you on
hold, you’re in for a bad day.
 If you see a 60 Minute news team waiting in your
office, you’re in for a bad day.
 If your horn gets stuck on the freeway and you’re
following a group of Hell’s Angels, you’re in for a
bad day.
 If your boss says, “Don’t bother to take off your
coat” you’re in for a bad day.
 If you wake up with your braces locked together on
your teeth, you’re in for a bad day.
 If you call your answering service and they tell you
it’s none of your business, you’re in for a bad day.
  If your income tax check bounces, you’re in for a
bad day.
 And last of all – if you have unconfessed sin, you’re
in for a bad day.
Bad days don’t just happen; there is always a reason.

What to do:
✞Evaluate your life: is your bad day a result of
lack of organization, an attack by Satan, or
unconfessed sin? There is always a reason.

********************

RESISTING TEMPTATION
February 13
 Bible Reading: James 4:1-10
 Key Verse: Verse 7 – “Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Key Words: Resist the devil

As you read verse 7 you find a three-fold command of

God. Step one: we must submit to God. Step two: we must
resist; but we would resist until we submit. Step three: watch
Satan flee; but he won’t flee until we resist, and we won’t
resist until we submit.
Reports the DENVER POST: “Like many sheep
ranchers in the West, Lexy Fowler has tried just about
everything to stop crafty coyotes from killing her sheep. She
has used odor sprays, electric fences, and ‘scare-coyotes.’ She
has slept with her lambs during the summer and has placed
battery-operated radios near them. She has corralled them at
night, herded them at day. But the southern Montana rancher
has lost scores of lambs—fifty last year alone.
“Then she discovered the llama—the aggressive,
funny-looking, afraid-of-nothing llama...’Llamas don’t appear
to be afraid of anything,’ she said. ‘When they see something,
they put their head up and walk straight toward it. That is
aggressive behavior as far as the coyote is concerned, and they
won’t have anything to do with that... Coyotes are
opportunists, and llamas take that opportunity away.’“
Apparently llamas know the truth of what James
writes: “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (4:7). The
moment we sense his attack through temptation is the
moment we should face it and deal with it for what it is.
When we fail to submit and resist, we will face the self-
induced trial of falling into temptation!!

What to do:
✞Submit to God; resist the devil; watch him flee.

********************

THE WRONG LORD

February 14

 Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:1-10

 Key Verse: Verse 2 - " Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of
God.”
Key Words: Looking unto Jesus
 What we focus on plays a large role in our actions or
what we do.
In regard to our focus, Robert J. Morgan writes:
“When businessman Alan Emery was in the wool business, he
once spent an evening with a shepherd on the Texas
prairie. During the night, the long wail of coyotes pierced the
air. The shepherd’s dogs growled and peered into the
darkness. The sheep, which had been sleeping, lumbered to
their feet, alarmed, bleating pitifully. The shepherd tossed
more logs onto the fire, and the flames shot up. In the glow,
Alan looked out and saw thousands of little lights. What were
they? Then he realized those lights were reflections of the fire
in the eyes of the sheep.
 “‘In the midst of danger,’ he observed, ‘the sheep
were not looking out into the darkness (where the coyotes
were), but the sheep were keeping their eyes set in the
direction of their safety, looking toward the shepherd.’ They
looked to the shepherd to protect them. I couldn’t help but
think of Hebrews 12: ‘looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith… .’”
When we look to the wrong source for our strength,
provision and protection, we produce a self-induced trial
which with the right look, could have been prevented.

What to do:
✞Look unto Jesus!

********************

IMPATIENCE
February 15
 Bible Reading: Psalm 25
 Key Verse: Verse 21 – “Let integrity and uprightness
preserve me; for I wait on thee.”
Key Words: for I wait on thee
 Waiting is not one of those things that most of us are
good at.
Joshua and Israel ran ahead of God at Ai and
produced a self-induced trial.
Martha was not patient in John 11:21 when she said to
Jesus, “…if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”
Elijah did not wait on God and ran from Jezebel. I
repeat, waiting is not one of those things most of us are good
at, but it is a part of the maturing process in our lives.
Have you heard about the Chinese bamboo tree? The
Chinese plant the seed; then water and fertilize it, but the first
year nothing happens. The second year they water and
fertilize it, and still nothing happens. The third and fourth
years they water and fertilize it, and nothing happens. Then
the fifth year, in a period of approximately six years, the
Chinese bamboo trees grows roughly ninety feet.
The question is, did it grow ninety feet in six weeks or
did it grow ninety feet each year? The obvious answer is that
it grew ninety feet in five years, because had they not applied
the water and fertilizer each year there would have been no
Chinese bamboo tree.
Many self-induced trials come because of our lack of
patience.

What to do:
✞Wait on the Lord. It will keep you from self-
induced trials in such areas as finances and marriage.

********************

WORRY
February 16
  Bible Reading: Genesis 4:9-24
Key Verse: Verse 14 - "Behold, thou hast driven me
out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy
face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to
pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
Key Words: every one that findeth me shall slay
me

Worry is often the result of disobedience, so it was in

Cain’s life. Cain brought upon himself many trials, not the
least of which was the constant stress of “worrying.”
The following quotes are not an endorsement of these
individuals. I enjoyed their statements in regard to worry.
 Dr. Robert Eliot is a cardiologist from Nebraska.
He has two rules for managing stress and worry.
(1) Don’t sweat the small stuff, and (2) it’s all small
stuff.
 Dr. Peter Marshall, the late Chaplain of the United
States Senate, once opened the Senate with this
prayer: “Help us to do our very best this day and
be content with today’s troubles, so that we shall
not borrow the troubles of tomorrow. Save us
from the sin of worrying, lest ulcers be the badge of
our lack of faith.”
 Dr. Billy Graham says, “Anxiety is the natural
result when our hopes are centered on anything
short of God and His will for us.”
 Dr. Charles Mayo observes, “Worry affects the
circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole
nervous system. I have never known a man who
died from overwork, but many who died from
doubt.”
 Oswald Chambers writes, “All worry is caused by
calculating without God.”
Worry is our indicator that our faith in God is like a
bone out of joint; it’s dislocated.
What to do:
✞Invest your life for God’s glory in others. An
occupied mind doesn’t have time to worry.

********************

CREDIT CARDS
February 17

 Bible Reading: Romans 13:8-14

 Key Verse: Verse 8 - “Owe no man any thing, but to
love one another: for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law.”
Key Words: Owe no man any thing

Credit cards – what a problem! Now, before you

become upset with me, you must understand, I have one
credit card and I use it for emergencies only. The last time I
used it was over five years ago. But you have to admit, as a
whole, credit cards are reaping havoc on most American
families. They are what I call a “self-induced trial.”
Let me give you something to consider. Before you
whip out that plastic, remember, most people don’t handle
these little debt detonators very well. The fact is, nearly 75%
of Americans who use credit cards make only the minimum
payment each month. At that rate (minimum payments) you
could spend the next thirty years paying back a $3,000 credit
card debt and give the financial institution $8,000 worth of
interest. It’s the principle of compound interest in reverse.
I read the following and concluded that most people
handle credit cards as this lady did. “She may have missed the
point of New Year’s Resolutions. With an eagerness to make
some changes in the area of financial habits, the lady called
her credit card company and said, ‘I’d like to pay off my
Master Card. Do you take Visa?’”
 Remember, owe no man anything. If you can’t pay it
back, don’t borrow it.
What to do:
✞It’s better to do without than
to buy what you can’t afford to
pay off down the road. You are producing in your own
life a self-induced trial.

********************

EXCUSES
February 18

 Bible Reading: Luke 14:12-24

 Key Verse: Verse 18 - "And they all with
one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto
him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must
needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.”
Key Words: And they all with one consent
began to make excuse

Those who make excuses face the self-induced trial of

not being blessed. It’s not that people can’t; it’s that they
won’t.
Can't and won't. Christians need to be very careful
which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use can't.
"I just can't get along with my wife."
"My husband and I can't communicate."
"I can't discipline the kids like I should."
"I just can't give up the affair I'm having."
"I can't stop overeating."
"I can't find the time to pray."
"I can't quit gossiping."
No, any Christian who takes seriously those five
passages we looked at (there are dozens more) will have to
confess the word really should be won't. Why? Because we
have been given the power, the ability to overcome. Literally!
 One of the best books you can read on overcoming
depression is a splendid work by two physicians, Minirth and
Meier. The volume is appropriately entitled Happiness Is A
Choice. These men agree that: “As psychiatrists we cringe
whenever [Christian] patients use the word can't. . . .
“Any good psychiatrist knows that ‘I can't’ and ‘I've
tried’ are merely lame excuses. We insist that our patients be
honest with themselves and use language that expresses the
reality of the situation. So we have our patients change
their can'ts to won'ts. . . .”
If an individual changes all his can'ts to won'ts, he
stops avoiding the truth, quits deceiving himself, and starts
living in reality. . . .
"I just won't get along with my wife."
"My husband and I won't communicate."
"I won't discipline the kids like I should."
"I just won't give up the affair I'm having."
"I won't stop overeating."
"I won't find the time to pray"
"I won't quit gossiping."
I close by reminding each of us that those who made
excuses in verse 18 missed the great supper in verse 24. The
self-induced trial of excuses leaves us in spiritual hunger.

What to do:
✞Make up your mind: be truthful, don’t say you
can’t.

********************

THE FAILURE OF SUCCESS

February 19



 Bible Reading: II Chronicles 26:1-22
Key Verse: Verse 16 - "But when he was strong, his
heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he
transgressed against the LORD his God, and went
into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the
altar of incense.”
Key Words: when he was strong, his heart was
lifted up to his destruction

Success is a good thing unless, of course, we believe

that we are the reason for the success. Then success becomes
the self-induced trial of failure and hurt. This is clearly seen,
not only in the life of Uzziah, but also in the life of the rich
farmer in Luke 12; and again in Joshua 6 and 7. After Israel’s
victory at Jericho, they thought they could defeat Ai with only
a few men, but most of all, without God. Success brought
their failure.
In 1999, the University of Alabama won the
Southeastern Conference Championship. They had exceeded
all expectations. The following year the pre-season polls had
them ranked as high as number three in the nation. They
were to be in the hunt for a national championship.
Unfortunately, the hunt for the national championship never
developed. Alabama finished with a 3 – 8 record that year. It
was later revealed that the success from the previous year had
caused some of the coaching staff to think more highly of
themselves than they ought to have thought; players thought
they could win without proper practice. They began to feel as
though victories were assured because of the previous year’s
success, but the result of their success was to fail totally.
The coaches, players, and fans discovered that success
today does not assure success tomorrow. Failure can and
does often come because of the wrong attitude toward
success. So I challenge you to be cautious or your successes
today could be tomorrow’s failures.

What to do:
 ✞Understand the importance of humility, hard
work, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or your
success today will be the failure of tomorrow.
EVIL HABITS
February 20

 Bible Reading: I Corinthians 3:9-23

 Key Verse: Verse 16 - “Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you?”
Key Words: ye are the temple of God

Paul asked a very searching question in I Corinthians

3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Then he went on to say in
verse 17, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy.”
We would not think of desecrating and vandalizing a
beautiful church building. We would not throw bricks
through its stained-glass windows, pour paint on its carpets,
or write vulgar and profane words on its walls. Yet in our
thoughtlessness we sometimes defile our bodies through poor
health habits. And is that not much worse than defacing a
church building?
A recent study shows that those who avoid tobacco,
liquor, and the likes have 40% fewer diseased heart arteries
than the rest of us. And their blood-cholesterol level is 15%
lower than the general population. Clean living is not only
good religion – it’s good sense.
When we poison our bodies with the things God
condemns we bring upon ourselves many self-induced trials.
May God grant you the self-discipline to avoid such vices.

What to do:
✞Enjoy it today; pay for it tomorrow.
 A JOB
February 21

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 22:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 13 – " The slothful man saith, There
is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.”
Key Words: There is a lion without

Proverbs 22:13 is a picturesque description of a fellow

who gets up some morning and doesn't want to go to work.
Here’s how it reads, “The slothful man saith, There is a lion
without, I shall be slain in the streets.” His wife peeks out the
window, but sees no lion. His children peer fearfully through
the curtains, but see no lion. But to him, the lion is real, at
least in his imagination, for he wants to stay home that day.
An occasional reluctance to go to work is normal. But
when an individual sees lions on his doorstep each morning,
something is more at fault than his eyesight!
His problem may be that he has a job, but not a
calling. Max Lerner says a mere job has three characteristics:
we want to get it over with the least possible effort, we want to
finish it in the shortest possible time, and we want as much
pay as possible. On the other hand, a calling is something you
could no more help doing than you could help breathing.
This was Robert Louis Stevenson’s philosophy, “If a
man love the labor of his trade apart from any question of
success or fame, the gods have called him.”
Winston Churchill said there are two kinds of people.
First, those whose work is work and pleasure is pleasure. And
second, those whose work and pleasure are one. For the
latter, he says, their working hours are never long enough.
Each day is a holiday. And when ordinary holidays come, they
are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing
vocation.
 If all you have is a job, then I feel sorry for you because
all you have from day to day are trials rather than daily joys.
What a shame.

What to do:
✞There is a difference between a job and a call.
Obey your call; it’s more enjoyable than getting a
job.

********************

THE INABILITY TO LAUGH AT

ONESELF
February 22

 Bible Reading: Psalm 126

 Key Verse: Verse 2 - "Then was our mouth filled
with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then
said they among the heathen, The LORD hath
done great things for them.”
Key Words: Then was our mouth filled with
laughter

It is one thing to laugh at others but another to laugh

at ourselves. I’m convinced one sign of being mature is the
ability to laugh at ourselves.
We laugh easily at the foibles of others. But the ability
to laugh at one's self is a helpful tension-breaker. True, life is
serious. But don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re not an
Atlas, bearing alone the weight of the world!
Abraham Lincoln is remembered as a sober, sad, and
deeply reflective person. But he is also remembered for his
wit and humor, including the knack of laughing at himself.
Deeply hurt when he learned one of his own cabinet members
called him a fool, he laughingly turned it aside. “He is a very
smart man, and if he thinks I am a fool,” Lincoln observed, “I
had better look into the matter.” The same wit was reflected
when someone, poking fun at his lanky legs, asked how long a
man’s legs should be. “Long enough to reach the ground,”
Lincoln retorted.
The night Adlai Stevenson conceded the presidential
election to Dwight D. Eisenhower, he called on Lincoln’s wit
to assuage his disappointment. In his concession speech to
his weeping admirers in Springfield, Illinois, Mr. Stevenson
recalled Mr. Lincoln’s words on one occasion when he, too,
lost an election. “I feel like the little boy who stubbed his toe
in the dark. He was too big to cry, and it hurt too much to
laugh.”
Oftentimes when we “mess up” and others laugh at us,
we respond with anger, failing to realize we are bringing upon
ourselves the self-induced trial of being embarrassed. Think
about it.

What to do:
✞It never hurts to laugh at yourself. It beats the
alternatives.

********************

MARRIAGE
February 23

 Bible Reading: John 2:1-12

 Key Verse: Verse 2 - "And both Jesus was called, and
his disciples, to the marriage.”
Key Words: And both Jesus was called, and his
disciples, to the marriage.

A marriage without Jesus is a self-induced trial

waiting to happen.
 Some time ago a young man – let’s call him Joe –
reached the time in life when he began thinking of marriage.
He was nervous about the whole thing, but he knew what he
wanted in a wife, and he started looking around. His eyes
roamed here and there, and he went out of his way to meet
new girls. Finally he had met every girl in town, and had
flirted with most of them. But only one stole his heart - Jo
Beth. He worked his way into a relationship with her, and, to
his great joy, she returned his affection. They fell in love, and
one evening he proposed. She accepted. Their families were
thrilled, and the word quickly spread through all their friends.
Joe and Jo Beth just beamed. They couldn't hide their joy as
they started planning their wedding. They chose the date.
They contacted the minister. They talked about the flowers
and the candles and the ceremony and the food. They started
talking about the guest list. Who should they invite? They sat
down and started compiling names. Their parents and
grandparents and relatives, of course. Their friends. Their
work associates. And then Joe said something interesting. Or
maybe it was Jo Beth. Or perhaps it just came to them both at
once. "What would you think of inviting Jesus himself? Let's
add him to the wedding just like we'd invite anyone else. Let's
send a special, formal invitation to Jesus Christ to be a part of
our marriage."
So they did. And Jesus Christ came. And when Jesus
attends a wedding, you never know what will happen. And
what happened on this occasion is recorded in the Gospel of
John, chapter 2. Jesus took the occasion to perform his first
miracle – the turning of water into wine.
It was evidently a young couple well known to Mary
and Jesus. The Lord had undoubtedly sold wood products to
people in Cana. He was, you remember, a carpenter, and Cana
was only about three miles or eight miles from Nazareth,
depending on which archaeological site is chosen. It seems
that Mary felt a sense of responsibility to see that things went
well at the wedding banquet, so it could well have been a
relative. At any rate, the young couple didn't hesitate to invite
Jesus to their wedding.
Jesus wants to attend our weddings, live in our homes,
and help us build our marriages. He wants to turn water into
wine, ordinary relationships into very special ones. Charles
Erdman put it this way: "All the signs wrought by our Lord
were symbolic of the experiences which would result from
faith in Him. It is most significant, therefore, that His first
miracle, which was an index to His whole ministry, was so
related to the joy of a wedding feast."
A Christian marriage has the presence of Jesus Christ
in it, filling the house, having His glow on the home, and
making the relationships spiritual and special. And that
makes all the difference.

What to do:
✞Remember, a marriage without Jesus is like a
pool of water in the desert – all dried up!!

********************

A LACK OF DISCERNMENT
February 24

 Bible Reading: Luke 12:54-59

 Key Verse: Verse 56 - " Ye hypocrites, ye can discern
the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that
ye do not discern this time?”
Key Words: ye do not discern this time

The word discern means the ability to look at an event

and realize what is happening. A lack of discernment can be a
real problem.
In our text Jesus is rebuking the people because they
could not discern that their Messiah had come and that their
deliverance wasn’t from Rome but from Satan. It was not a
deliverance from government but from sin. Their lack of
discernment caused them not only temporary trials but
eternal trials.
A lack of discernment leads to wrong decisions. A
college coach was trying to convert one of his former players
into a high school talent scout. The coach began talking about
the kind of player they wanted. He was describing the kind of
guy who gets hit and doesn’t get up, when the enthusiastic
scout jumped in, “We don’t want him!” The coach agreed, and
told of the guys who get up after getting hit once but who stay
down after the next hit. The prospective scout knew that
wasn’t the guy they wanted either. Then the coach told about
a player who just kept getting up after every time he got
knocked down. The former athlete knew this was the player
they wanted so he shouted, “That’s the guy I’ll look for!” The
coach said, “No, don’t you get it? We want the guy who’s
knocking everybody down!”
Discernment: we all need it!

What to do:
✞Everyone thinks they have discernment but
most don’t ask God to give them spiritual
discernment. We need it; you need it.

********************

BEING FRUSTRATED
February 25

 Bible Reading: Nehemiah 4:1-11

 Key Verse: Verses 2 & 6 - "And he spake before his
brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What
do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will
they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will
 they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish
which are burned?” (vs 2) “So built we the wall; and
all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof:
for the people had a mind to work.” (vs 6)
Key Words: What do these feeble Jews? … So built
we the wall

It is no secret to some that Nehemiah is one of my

favorite Bible characters. There are several reasons as to why
he is one of my favorite. One of those reasons is that he
seldom let others know how much they frustrated him.
We all are frustrated from time to time by the actions
or lack of action from others. The problem is many times the
actions of others is done intentionally to frustrate us. There is
an old saying that goes, “Never let them see you sweat.”
The key to stopping people from intentionally
frustrating you is to never let them know they are succeeding!
If they know they are getting to you, they’ll never stop.
It is said of one of the famous composers that he had a
rebellious son who used to come in late at night after his
father and mother had gone to bed. And before going to his
own room, he would go to his father's piano and slowly, as
well as loudly, play a simple scale, all but the final note. Then
leaving the scale uncompleted, he would retire to his room.
Meanwhile the father, hearing the scale minus the final note,
would writhe on his bed, his mind unable to relax because the
scale was unresolved. Finally, in consternation, he would
stumble down the stairs and hit the previously unstruck note.
Only then would his mind surrender to sleep once again.
Now, who was winning the battle of the minds? Pray
for those who are your heavenly sandpaper and keep on
keeping on for God. Make God the focus of your life; and
remember, never let them see you sweat.

What to do:
 ✞Don’t attempt to get even. This makes their
game of frustration more fun.

LOVE OF MONEY
February 26

 Bible Reading: I Timothy 6:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 10 - “For the love of money is the
root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.”
Key Words: For the love of money

I know that our text is a familiar portion of Scripture.

We hear about the love of money all the time, but it’s true –
the love of money is the root of all evil, and that love of money
WILL produce many self-induced trials in your life. Just ask
Achan in Joshua 7, or the Israelites in Nehemiah 5, or
Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2, or Ananias and Sapphira in Acts
5…and we all know about Judas in Matthew 27.
Many people think money is security, but I Timothy
6:9 warns that it can be just the opposite. A few years ago,
columnist Jim Bishop reported what happened to people who
won the state lottery:
Rosa Grayson of Washington won $400 a week for life.
She hides in her apartment. For the first time in her life, she
has "nerves." Everyone tries to put the touch on her. "People
are so mean," she said. "I hope you win the lottery and see
what happens to you."
When the McGugarts of New York won the Irish
Sweepstakes, they were happy. Pop was a steamfitter. Johnny,
twenty-six, loaded crates on docks. Tim was going to night
school. Pop split the million with his sons. They all said the
money wouldn't change their plans. A year later, the million
wasn't gone; it was bent. The boys weren't speaking to Pop, or
each other. Johnny was chasing expensive race horses; Tim
was catching up with expensive girls. Mom accused Pop of
hiding his poke from her. Within two years, all of them were
in court for nonpayment of income taxes. "It's the Devil's own
money," Mom said. Both boys were studying hard to become
alcoholics.
All these people hoped and prayed for sudden wealth.
All had their prayers answered. All were wrecked on a dollar
sign.
The love of money WILL produce self-induced trials in
your life. Put God first (Matthew 6:33), and always remember
Proverbs 17:1, “Better is a dry morsel, and quietness
therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.”

What to do:
✞Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven.

********************

UNCONFESSED SIN
February 27

 Bible Reading: I John 1

 Key Verse: Verse 10 -"If we say that we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in
us.”
Key Words: If we say we have not sinned, we
make him a liar

Because of the humanistic world we live in,

acknowledging wrong is becoming a thing of the past. We
don’t see ourselves as wrong, rather we simply say things like,
“I don’t quite see it that way.”
There is a great example of this in the book of Malachi
as the leader of Israel talks with the Lord. Note Malachi 1:2,
“I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast
thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Saith the
LORD: yet I loved Jacob.” Malachi 1:6, “A son honoreth his
father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is
mine honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the
LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.
And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?” Malachi
2:17, “Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say,
Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that
doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth
in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” Malachi 3:7-8,
“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from
mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me,
saith the LORD of hosts, But ye said, Wherein shall we
return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye
say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”
The result of a “know-it-all mentality” is unconfessed
sin and the result of unconfessed sin are self-induced trials.

What to do:
✞Live by the Word, not by your word but God’s
Word.
 SELF-CENTEREDNESS
February 28

 Bible Reading: Luke 12:16-31

 Key Verse: Verse 17 - "And he thought within
himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no
room where to bestow my fruits?”
Key Words: and he thought within himself

Examples of self-centeredness can be found

throughout the Word of God: Adam and Eve, Cain, Achan, the
Prodigal Son, Ananias and Sapphira, why even Satan himself.
Someone once said that the problem with a self-made
man is that he worships his creator.
From an unknown source comes an article titled,
"How To Be Miserable." It says, "Think about yourself. Talk
about yourself. Use ‘I’ as often as possible. Mirror yourself
continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what
people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious.
Be jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a
criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration
and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on
everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors
shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk
your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others."
“I gave a little tea party this afternoon, at 3. Twas very
small, 3 guests in all - I, myself, and me. Myself ate all the
sandwiches while I drank all the tea. Twas also I who ate the
pie and passed the cake to me.”
Jesus calls a self-centered person a fool (verse 20) and
that they all, as a result, produce in their own lives many trials
and sorrows.

What to do:
✞Don’t be self-centered, be Christ-centered.
I deeply appreciate the help of

Mary Parsons

Glenda Myrick

And my lovely wife, Linda

Without God using these

people to help, this devotional
would not have been possible.
Dr. Mike Rouse
 is a ministry of

5568 Chalkville Mountain Road

Birmingham, AL. 35235
(205) 854-2741
www.mountainviewbaptist.org