Daily Devotional

In 1810 a man named Peter Durand filed a patent for the tin can for food storage. Before that, there was really no reliable way to store and preserve food. This one invention changed the food industry, and we are still utilizing this technology over 200 years later.

Though Peter Durand invented the tin can in 1810, it wasn’t until 1858, 48 years later, that a man named Ezra J. Warner invented the can opener. Before that, the instructions on a tin can were “Cut round the top near the outer edge with a chisel and hammer.” Not really the most convenient way to open a can.

For 48 years I’m sure a lot of people thought, “There’s got to be a better way” but no one did anything about it until Ezra J. Warner came along and said, “Why isn’t there a better way?”

I wonder in my own life how often I accept things as “just the way it is” when in fact there is a better way. How often do I look at issues around me in my country, state, or local community, or to get even more personal, how often do I look at my own shortcomings and just think this is “just the way it is” instead of looking for a solution? I’m not saying that we each need to try to solve every problem the world has, but I wonder if there are some things that could get solved if we changed our perspective from “It’s just the way it is” to “Should it be this way?”

The story of Queen Esther is a powerful reminder of God working through people. Esther, a Jewish girl, was made Queen of the Persian Empire. Later, a law was enacted by this same empire that would wipe out her people. Esther could have stayed silent and figured this was just the way it was, but instead, she spoke up and trusted God with the results.

The time and place we now live is not a mistake or an accident. We may never save countless people or even invent something like a can opener, but we can look around us and see what God may want us to do in our own sphere of influence.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.