2 Corinthians 2:14 – But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (NIV)

Earl Grey came to me as a three-month-old kitten. I am not much of a cat person, but there was something special about Earl.

My granddaughters called him "Jungle Cat", since he ran like a gazelle and climbed anything and everything. He also loved to travel in the truck, and he followed me just like a dog wherever I went. He came when he was called, never scratched the furniture, and had impeccable manners.

When we moved from northern British Columbia, Canada, to Alberta, he thoroughly enjoyed the trip and adjusted well to our new home.

The morning that I arose and saw that he wasn't sitting in his usual spot waiting for his breakfast, I knew that something was wrong. Earl never did come home again, and neither did my daughters' Siamese cat, Daisy. We discovered coyote scat along the driveway and out along our gravel road. Coyotes love a good feline meal.

I was heartbroken. Earl was just under ten months old. He had hardly begun to live. I wondered why God had opened my heart to adopt this little fellow, only to lose him in such a short time.

As I took the dogs for their daily walk, I often pondered my loss and what seemed like the senselessness of Earl's death. Then one day, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the fact that I had written several devotionals about Earl, devotionals that pointed both myself and others to God's goodness and presence in our lives. In remembering this, I realized that Earl's life had not been lived in vain. His short life was used to glorify God and His kingdom. What greater purpose and victory could any life have?

As we proceed into another new year, I urge each of us to consider our own lives and how we are living them, whether for ourselves and our own desires, or for Christ and the glory of His kingdom. Also consider that because God was able to use a kitten to bring glory to His kingdom, how much more He is able to use each and every one of us. May our hearts thus be open to the power and guidance of His Spirit, day by day, making 2024 a remarkable and spiritually victorious year as we choose to live for Him and Him alone.

Prayer: Father God, what a great and marvellous God You are! Open our hearts today to desire first and foremost to live for Christ, through our obedience to Your Word and the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. Use us, Lord, to glorify Your kingdom, so that as many souls as possible may be won and changed forever for Christ in 2024. In His name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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