Daily Devotional
Be different!
April 16, 2022
“Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.”
Psalm 86:1
My spiritual battleground is not over a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of port.
It’s not in a disco or a movie theater. My spiritual battleground is not a backyard fence over which I gossip to my neighbor, nor is it a fast car I race past the speed limit. My paralysis prevents me from reaching for common temptations. That’s why my spiritual battleground is on the field of my thoughts.
I possess a very unlovely trait: I will waste precious time in idle daydreams. I hate it because wasteful fantasies distract me from the real concerns of life, causing me to feel restless and dissatisfied with the way things are.
I draw comfort, though, knowing that my unlovely traits furnish me with my best discipline. The very fact that I am ashamed of myself drives me to God. I lie in the dust of my self-despair at His feet and find safety and acceptance. My lazy thoughts make me contrite and repentant, and I am humbled that I have to come so often to God for cleansing.
If we are to have power with the Lord, to be dear to Him, if our prayers are to prevail and if we are to be most useful to Him, we must jerk right-side up those wrong and unlovely traits in our lives.
Amy Carmichael has said, “No word can declare with what longings Divine Love waits until the heart, all weary and sick of itself, turns to its Lord and says, ‘Take full possession.’”
Lord, I am poor and needy for I am so often overwhelmed by the unlovely traits in my life. May these things drive me to You, whether it’s pride, halfheartedness, peevish temper, or impurity in thought, word, or deed. Good Lord, hear my prayer, and in hearing, please forgive.
Yesterday,we talked about some aim, and I want to say, All these aims—even the last one, which sounds so selfless—are futile and without lasting value unless the underlying goal is to serve Christ. As Jesus´ followers, we should model our life after His.
And Matthew 20:28 tells us that even the Lord ´did not come to be served, but to serve.´ Yet sometimes we can feel overwhelmed when we consider the amazing ways that other believers serve the Lord.
With God on his side, King David led great armies into war. Also, there are evangelists today who speak to tens of thousands and see many saved.
How could anything we do compare with accomplishments like these? And while comparisons may discourage us, some Christians use other excuses for not trying— such as a lack of experience or having the wrong personality for the task.
But God´s call for each person is unique. He will provide the situations, words, and ability so you can achieve what He wants done. Remember, our Father is the one who makes the difference. We are merely tools, and we´re blessed to be used by Him.
Are you demonstrating your love for the heavenly Father by serving others? As Christians, we should all live in such a way that every evening we can say to Him, ´Lord, in the best way I know how, I have attempted to serve Your purpose today.´
John 6:26-35 God created His people to be comfortable in their own skin. In spiritual terms, humans are designed to experience peace, joy, and contentment. But many people go through life feeling fragmented and empty.
They are searching for a person or philosophy that will satisfy their hunger for meaning, but they end up experiencing only dissatisfaction.
In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman who was clearly feeling incomplete and disillusioned (John 4:7-30). Attempting to fill her life with the love of a man, she´d had five failed marriages and was presently involved in a sinful relationship.
This woman had dipped her bucket repeatedly into the well of human love to get the acceptance that she hoped would make her whole. But each experience left her thirsty. Standing before Jesus, she was a broken soul and social outcast.
People throughout history have been drinking from false wells. One of Satan´s greatest deceptions involves convincing a person that happiness and fulfillment can be found only by getting enough love, success, revenge, etc.
But it´s easy to recognize the devil´s lie—all it takes is a look at the many who try to satisfy their emptiness through unhealthy habits and unsafe attitudes.
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