Even If. . .: Devotions and Prayers for When Life Doesn't Go as Planned

By Janet Ramsdell Rockey

Even when life doesn't go as planned, our God is still good!
Do you believe it? . . .

And, with Him by your side, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible!
Have you experienced it? . . .

Inspired by Daniel 3:16-18, this uplifting collection of devotional meditations and prayers will refresh your weary soul and remind you of the hope that is found in our God of miracles—in the God of possibilities!

These 180 truth-infused devotions will help transform your heart and mind with enduring promises from God's Word.

You'll find your soul delighted as, on every beautiful page, you discover new strength, confidence, and courage for today, tomorrow, and all your days to come.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing
• Release date: Dec 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781636097695

Janet Ramsdell Rockey

Janet Ramsdell Rockey is a freelance Christian writer living in Tampa, Florida, with her family and two cats. Her writing dedication withstands a full-time job, constant home improvements, and her feisty feline “children,” all useful distractions that inspire her literary projects. You may enjoy her works in other Barbour publications.

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Introduction

Even when life doesn’t go as planned, our God is still good!

Do you believe it? …

And, with Him by your side, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible!

Have you experienced it? …

Inspired by Daniel 3:16–18, this uplifting collection of devotional meditations and prayers will refresh your weary soul and remind you of the hope that is found in our God of miracles—in the God of possibilities!

These 180 truth-infused devotions will help transform your heart and mind with enduring promises from God’s Word. You’ll find your soul delighted as, on every beautiful page, you discover new strength, confidence, and courage for today, tomorrow, and all your days to come.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

GENESIS 3:21 NLT

Adam and his wife took pleasure in an intimate relationship with God until they disobeyed Him. Instead of looking forward to their walk in the garden with Him, they hid in fear—a new discomfiting emotion that replaced their joy.

In her naivete, Eve succumbed to Satan’s deception, and then she questioned God’s goodness. Adam knew better but followed her example and ate. In wanton disobedience, they acted on Satan’s lie rather than relying on God’s truth, replaced God’s will with their own, and doomed the human race and the world to the loathsome penalty of their sin.

God instituted the first sin offering to restore their fellowship with Him. An animal had to be slaughtered, the first shedding of blood, to make garments to cover their nakedness.

Humankind has wearied the Lord with our inherited rebellious nature ever since. But He planned a solution in eternity past. God provided the ultimate sacrifice, His own Son, not merely to cover our sin but to remove it as far from Him as the east is from the west.

Gracious Father, we regret the times we weary You with our own insolent stubbornness. Thank You for Your long-suffering patience and love for us.

Alignment with God

The LORD said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

1 SAMUEL 8:7 NASB

The Israelite elders clamored from selfish motives for Samuel to appoint a king for them. They wanted to imitate the surrounding pagan nations, effectively rejecting God as their true King. They failed to realize that conforming to pagan customs would weaken their spiritual connection to the Lord.

God instructed Samuel to anoint Saul as a prince, not a king, in order to deliver the people from the Philistines.

Saul reluctantly began his reign as a humble servant, with Samuel as his mentor. As his military success increased, so did his self-will and disobedience. He began to reshape the terms of worship, which led him to a disastrous end.

How often does this happen to us? In our rush to climb the career ladder, close the next deal, or gain secular recognition, do we forget to follow God’s guidance? Then do we wonder why He disciplines us? Daily time in prayer and Bible reading enables us to remain in alignment with the Lord.

O God, our King, help us acknowledge Your sovereignty. Let all that we do bring honor and glory to You.

Nothing Too Difficult

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?

JEREMIAH 32:27 NASB

Under King Zedekiah, the Israelites turned away from almighty God and offered incense to Baal, poured out drink offerings to other gods, and committed the most detestable abomination of all—sacrificing their babies to the fire of Molech. While false prophets told the king only what he wanted to hear, Jeremiah truthfully prophesied about the coming judgment on Jerusalem.

Because Judah sank into pagan idolatry, God judged the nation and allowed the king of Babylon to crush Jerusalem by sword, by famine and by pestilence (Jeremiah 32:36 NASB). The Chaldeans burned the city to the ground and took the survivors into captivity. As dismal as the situation looked, God used those wicked acts to bring about His plan.

In His mercy and at His appointed time, He gathered His people from distant kingdoms and returned them to their land. He restored them, and they worshipped Him. Just as He brought great calamity upon them, He also bestowed all the goodness He had promised them.

Do we weary God with our modern idolatries? If we turn back to Him, He will restore our fellowship with Him, for nothing is too difficult for God.

Lord God, thank You for Your immeasurable mercy and love.

Higher Purpose

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

GENESIS 50:20 NKJV

Joseph suffered hardships at the hands of his envious, hate-filled brothers. They mocked him, plotted his murder, and sold him to a caravan traveling to Egypt. There, he was sold again, faced sexual harassment and false accusations, and landed in jail.

Joseph probably wondered where the Lord was. According to the scriptures, God was with him all the time. Then Joseph rose to power, second only to Pharaoh.

When his brothers came to Egypt fifteen years later, fear and guilt gripped them when they realized he held authority over them. But Joseph understood that God’s purpose was higher than acts of retaliation against his brothers. The tiny nation of Israel needed an incubation period to grow in number and strength, and God used Joseph to bring that about.

Many of us can relate to Joseph when a family member, friend, or colleague plots against us. While the other person meant it for evil, God meant it for good to give us an opportunity to glorify Him.

Gracious God, give us the faith of noble Joseph, who remained devoted to You and sought Your will in the midst of turmoil and strife.

Path of Blessing

This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

ISAIAH 14:26–27 NIV

Through the prophet Isaiah, God predicted the destruction of Assyria. Twenty years later, He fulfilled the prophecy when the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrians in their camp.

He also predicted that Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, would be destroyed. No human being would ever again inhabit that glorious city. To this day, it is nothing but ruins. Only wild animals live where magnificent buildings once stood.

Sometimes we feel like the ruins of Assyria or Babylon, devastated by our circumstances. But we will never suffer the fate of those pagan kingdoms that denied God. Throughout the Old Testament, we find messianic prophecies. The Messiah would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, of the ancestry of Judah. He would be crucified, rise again, and ascend to the Father. In His sovereignty, God has provided a path of blessings for us through the fulfillment of the prophecy about His Son, Jesus Christ.

Father, in our most devastating circumstances, we seek Your path of blessings to comfort us.

Unmerited Graze

Then Job answered the LORD and said, I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

JOB 42:1–2 NASB

After a season of suffering and unjust criticism, Job listened in awe as God revealed His wisdom and power. The Lord rules over all His creation, yet He cares about each person.

When it was his turn to speak, Job humbly addressed the Lord, repenting in dust and ashes. He sought and found joy in sharing God’s fellowship. At the end of his faith challenge, Job learned that he had no right to express his human disapproval of God’s divine ways.

By restoring all that Job had lost and giving him even more, the Lord vindicated Job’s faithfulness against Satan’s initial challenge.

It is truly difficult not to complain when the Lord allows us to be subjected to tragedies or hardships. But by trusting His ultimate control, we learn to lean on His everlasting arms. When we feel like we can’t take another step, He will carry us and sustain us. God is always with us.

Unwarranted calamity reveals God’s mercy to us, His unmerited grace.

Almighty and powerful God, we trust in You to bring us through our difficult times. Wrap us in Your loving arms.

Limitless Possibilities

For no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

JEREMIAH 22:30 KJV

God cursed King Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin or Coniah) because of his wickedness. The Chaldeans took him to Babylon, where he spent the rest of his life in captivity. None of his descendants reigned after him.

God used this particular curse to exhibit His sovereignty in at least two ways.

Matthew’s genealogy traces the royal line of Joseph through Solomon to Jeconiah. If not for Jeconiah’s curse, Joseph might have been king instead of Herod at the time of Christ’s birth. But God had a nobler plan for Joseph: to be the stepfather of the Messiah. Joseph heeded the instructions of God’s messenger and took Mary as his bride, escorted her to Bethlehem, then fled to Egypt to protect them from Herod’s murderous plot.

Luke’s genealogy traces the true lineage of Jesus through Mary to Nathan, Solomon’s brother. If Jesus had been born in the line of Joseph, the curse would have disqualified Him from sitting on the throne of David in the millennium. But God assured the Lord’s future reign through Mary, since her ancestry didn’t include Jeconiah.

Heavenly Father, open our eyes to Your sovereignty and let us witness Your limitless possibilities.

A Bountiful End

Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

JUDGES 13:3 NASB

After many barren years, God blessed Manoah and his wife with a son named Samson. When the angel of the Lord announced the coming birth, Manoah prayed for guidance to raise this special child. He learned his son was designated to live an abstinent life as a Nazirite.

Samson violated his Nazirite status on numerous occasions, yet God still used him to destroy the Philistines. Because he epitomizes a believer who fails but is still used by God, we know that God can use stumbling Christians for His glory. Chapter 11 in Hebrews even lists Samson among the heroes of faith!

When our productivity slows to a stop, we often feel barren. Maybe our business loses money or health problems reduce our usefulness. The Lord can provide a bountiful end to our desolate season, even if the remedy seems chaotic or exasperating. God, in His sovereignty, will use it to bring about His purpose for our lives. Step back and watch Him move.

Father God, let us remember Your sovereignty to work Your glory through any situation and anyone.

Godly Wisdom

If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace. So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

EXODUS 18:23–24 NASB

Moses acted as the judge and mediator for the Israelites in the wilderness. From dawn to dusk, they inundated him with their disputes and concerns.

When his father-in-law, Jethro, saw how exhausted Moses was, he admonished him that he would surely wear out. He offered Moses