LESSONS FROM THE STORY OF LITTLE JOE (1)

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Meditation verse:“In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world” (John 16:33b MSG)

The story is told of a little boy Joe, who disappeared whilst staying with his grandmother in a rural community. He had been playing outside his home and suddenly was nowhere to be found. A search party was sent out to look for him, but the search went on for hours without yielding any result. An elderly man in the community decided to join in the search. His son tried to discourage him, as he had just had a surgery for a heart bypass. Besides, he reasoned, there were already so many people looking for the boy. ‘What difference would an old man who probably would not walk fast make?’ But the old man refused to be dissuaded, so his son decided to go with him. They felt it was better to go their own way since joining the crowd may slow them down. They also wanted to focus on the unlikely places that would be overlooked by the crowd.

After a few hours of walking, they came across a thick forest, fenced off with barbed wires. The son argued that little Joe would never have wandered this far, let alone gone through the wired fence. But again, the old man insisted that it was the way to go, he entered into the forest, leaving his son behind. The old man had suffered a painful loss as a little boy. He had lost his little brother in a car crash and had carried the guilt of not being able to save his brother, for many years. As he trudged along the thick bush, images of his little brother flashed across his mind and he just kept going. After what seemed like ages, he saw a dog, and then, he saw little Joe frightened and huddled in a corner. He picked him up, held him tightly in his arms and began making his way back to the crowd. The joy in his face could not be mistaken.

Just as little Joe disappeared without any warning, life can happen at any time. You have very little control over certain occurrences in your life. Jesus said: “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world”. You must trust God and keep striving to get ahead.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Oke Chinye

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?

Jesus says in Mathew 11:28; “come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, this invitation is for you. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart; all you need to do is invite Him in, by believing and receiving Him.

Are you ready? Here’s a prayer you can say right now:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of grace. I believe that Jesus died to set me free from my sins. Thank You Jesus for dying to save me. Please forgive me for all my sins and come into my heart. Be my Lord and Saviour. Fill me with Your Spirit and enable me to live for You from now onwards, in Jesus’ name, Amen

If you prayed this prayer, please email me at rockteachingministry@gmail.com and let me know about it. I would love to pray with you personally and send you a copy of my eBook; ‘Living the Life’ to encourage you as you begin your journey with Jesus.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Oke Chinye.
Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your heart?

He says in Mathew 11:28, “come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He longs to give you rest."

Would you like to do so now? Here’s a prayer you can say:
Dear Jesus, I believe that You died to save me from all my sins. Today, I invite you into my heart and I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive all my sins and help me to live my life for You.

If you prayed this prayer, send me an email at rockteachingministry@gmail.com

I would love to pray with you personally and send you a copy of my book; ‘Living the Life’ to encourage you as you begin your new life in Christ.