Daily Devotional

Facts and Feeling

AUGUST 16, 2021
Mom lifted her gaze from the newspaper to her
Bible Reading:
daughter, who sat at the kitchen counter eating a 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
bowl of Fruit Flakes cereal. “Tara,” she said, “doesn’t
your friend Janet live on Morgan Street?”
“LORD, LET YOUR
“She’s not my friend anymore,” Tara mumbled.
CONSTANT LOVE
Mom repeated her question. “Doesn’t her family live
SURROUND US, FOR OUR
on Morgan Street?”
HOPES ARE IN YOU
ALONE”
Tara shrugged. “Yeah,” she answered. “Why?” (PSALM 33:22, TLB).
“There was a fire on Morgan Street last night,” Mom
explained, laying the paper down on the counter.
“Two families were burned out of their homes.” “Did
anybody die?” Tara asked.

“No, everybody got out in time. But one of the families

was named Turner.”
“That’s Janet’s family,” Tara said. “It’s got to be.”
Mom shook her head sadly. “We should find out what
we can do to help.
I’m sure we have extra blankets and clothing and things they could
use. The paper says the house was a total loss.” “Do we have to?”
Tara asked.
Mom looked at her daughter with confusion in her expression.
“What do you mean?”
PRAY: “Our
Tara sighed. “It’s just that Janet’s been really cruel to me and my feelings
friends this year at school, and . . . well, I just don’t feel like helping
her, that’s all.” sometimes
Mom nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry to hear she’s been cruel to you,”
she said, her voice soft. “I guess I can understand your feelings. But
lead us to
feelings don’t determine what’s right or wrong, Tara. God does.”
take the easy
“You mean, even though she’s been cruel to me and my friends all way out
year, I still have to … like … be all loving to her?”
“Only if you want to do the right thing,” Mom answered. when it
“Whether I feel like it or not,” Tara said flatly.
“Whether you feel like it or not,” Mom answered. “Because, like I
comes to
said, feelings don’t determine what’s right or wrong-”
showing love
“Yeah, I know,” Tara interrupted. “God does.” She took a final bite of to people we
Fruit Flakes and stood. “I guess I’ve got some T-shirts and sweaters I
could bag up for Janet.” don’t like.
Mom took her daughter’s cereal bowl and placed it in the sink. “I
Give us your
knew you’d do the right thing,” she said.

strength,
TO DISCUSS: Do you think it was easy for Tara to decide to help
Janet’s family? Why or why not? What determines right and wrong? Lord, to do
Do your feelings sometimes make it harder to choose right? Should
you choose right anyway, even when it’s hard? right.”

Millennium Christian Academy