As the rain and snow

“He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:3-6

“I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
    you lay me in the dust of death.” Psalm 22:14-15

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” John 19:16-18

Pain in my hand pulses hot and hard. Excruciating, meaning ‘out of the cross.’ I think of the Carpenter’s hands— cutting, shaping, connecting, and smoothing wood. The Healer’s hands that lovingly touched the leper, gently raised the fevered, powerfully raised the crippled. The Teacher’s hands that blessed children, broke bread for thousands, and grilled fish for the disciples. The Servant’s hands that washed feet, served the last supper to a betrayer, wrung tight and opened submissively in Gethsemane prayer. These are the Redeemer’s hands that carried the cross, that were nailed to the cross, that were pierced for my transgressions, torn for my brokenness. They bore the weight of my Savior, who bore the weight of my sin. Of all His children’s sin, past, present and future. (Matthew 8:1-3; 14-15; Mark 6:3; 10:13-16; Luke 22:41-44; John 6:9-11; 13:1-5; 21-26; 21:9-13)

How beautiful the hands of my Lord, active in creation and presently upholding all things by His power, as well as all my concerns in constant intercession as my Advocate for God’s perfect will. I wish I could hold them, lovingly like Nicodemus, tangibly like Thomas. I cannot in real life. (John 19:38-44; 20:24-27; Romans 8:26,34 ; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2-3)

But I can be Jesus’s hands to others. His hands that never let us go give us freedom to go and be those hands, for His sake, in our world. He bids us to use them to do His work in the world and recognition to His name in places that know Him not.

What of my hands? With what Spirit-led industry are they occupied? Where am I building with energy, planting with vision, improving with care, maintaining with skillful stewardship? How am I using them to create beauty for God’s glory, to serve with generosity, to write to encourage with His messages of hope? With what gentleness and grace do they soothe the anxious, calm the fearful, caress the unsettled, love the lonely, and comfort the grieving?

I open my hands to You, my Lord, to relinquish my pride and self sufficiency, to offer in love and service to others, held high in glad surrender and grateful praise.

“Among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory… As it is written,

‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God… The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned…’For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:6-7,9-12,14,16

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” Luke 10:27

There are plenty of ‘influencers’ and ‘thought leaders’ who can play mind games with us today. From mainstream media to academic scholars to internet pontificators, we have a plethora of expertise and slant to pick, eat, and digest as our own. It is intriguing to hear exact verbiage of opinion repeated, illustrating the sign-on culture of allowing others to think, and speak, for us. Certainly God has gifted many of His children with intellect and spiritual insight, yet even with those we trust, it is important we confirm with scripture to make the truths our own.

There is also an enemy who seeks to disguise his lies and destroy truth, and he will do anything he can to distort and confuse God’s perfect word, will, and ways. We must vigilantly guard against his wiles, steeping ourselves in God’s word so we recognize his counterfeit antics. (John 8:44; 10:10; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 11:14-15)

Creator God has given us each a mind, and calls us to love Him with all of that mind. He has given the Christian His indwelling Spirit, who guides and inspires our thinking. We can and must trust Him to direct our thoughts to arrive at His convictions and conclusions. The Living Word is ours forever. (John 1:1-4; 16:13)

What are we regularly doing to renew our minds, to focus them on what is true, noble, and right, to guard them against falsehood and tasting the pernicious delicacies of this world? It takes discipline, and commitment, and time, to soak ourselves in the Scriptures, to concentrate in uninterrupted prayer, worshiping God for who He is and asking Him to elucidate His word. He will always show up to meet us, and is faithful to sanctify our minds. (Isaiah 50:4; Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 4:7-8; Colossians 3:2,10)

“Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee...

Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose.” ~Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)

Oh Lord, ground me in Your wisdom, direct me to think Your thoughts, and grant me the mind to process and communicate Your truth.

At His voice, all was created, weather whips, wars cease, life begins, life ends. At His voice, kingdoms are raised up, kingdoms fall, men are healed, men are saved. At His voice, hope is conveyed, God is glorified, men are raised to life. judgment falls, storms are stilled. Do we listen, listen to hear His voice? (Mark 4:39; John 11:40-44); 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

When we consider the Lord and His voice, all it communicates and effectuates, we are compelled to silence, a holy hush. No words match, none adequately respond in like power, or splendor. Our human communication cannot touch the divine. We are stilled, speechless, and long to hear more and longer the roar of many waters. From the depth of our souls, our only worthy and appropriate response, at the close of all our listening, is to cry “Glory!” to His name. (Ezekiel 43:2; Revelation 1:15; 14:2)

In a society of noise, in person and virtual, from lips and screens, God’s voice can be lost. He does not always speak the loudest, or communicate in magnificent, obvious, audible ways, so His whisper can go undetected when we are bombarded with busy cacophony or tuned in to other alluring melodies or dissonant messages. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

What will it take for us to hush, watch, and listen? Would we observe the orchestration of His voice around us? Would we allow ourselves to get lost in wonder at His effectual word? Would we withhold judgment and jumping to conclusions? Stop short of taking credit, registering our opinions, making excuses, assigning blame? Will we determine today to humble ourselves, be still, and truly listen? Then pray in awe-struck, devoted, grateful response? (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 26:41; Luke 9:34-36)

“I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up… And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called… And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” Isaiah 6:1,4-7

Father, may the rhythms and cadence of Your word be my delight every moment, every day. Shake my foundations with Your voice, and purify mine, for the sake of Your glory.

^“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come,.. O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,” and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house.” Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Through Nathan, God answered King David’s desire to build Him a house by reminding him His promises of a great name, a place, rest, a ‘house’ of offspring, a kingdom, a forever throne, His steadfast love. Could David want any more? Overwhelmed at his covenant LORD’s extravagant “all this greatness,” David went before Him in gratitude, with humble acknowledgement of His bounty and promises. Before this benevolent Almighty, who was he? (2 Samuel 7:1-16)

In days of watch me, listen to me, follow me, it is a healthy pursuit to look at our Lord. There is nothing like beholding His purity, providence, kindness, and rich mercies to put us in our places. God alone is our supreme Benefactor; apart from Him we have and are and produce nothing. (John 15:5)

When are we taking time to dwell on the Lord Himself? To speak specific thanksgiving over the many ways He has enriched our lives, directed our thinking, made our way, provided for our needs? Contemplating His greatness will reduce us to a sober and rightful position before Him, a place of glad receiving, and confidence in His word to us. (Romans 12:3)

Lord, keep me sitting before You in wonder, thanksgiving, and praise. May what I am be identified by who You are, that Your great name is known and exalted however You direct my life.

“Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan…

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God’s house we walked in the throng…

An outgoing Christian couple who does not honor a contract, cheats a business partner, or constantly complains about their neighbors. A church leader who harshly manages his family. A wife who berates her husband. A deacon who is unfaithful to his marriage vows. A woman who spreads gossip about a sister in Christ. A church friend who forgets to call. These all disappoint, because they tarnish what we assume true Christians should look like, be like.

There is only One who is absolutely trustworthy, and will never disappoint. When we look for other people to be Jesus, they will never measure up, but when we seek Him directly, we will find Him the purest of friends. Dependence on people is guaranteed at some point to fail, because we are sinners all. But hope in the Unfailing One will never disappoint. Take hold!

The wonder is not only that our Lord is ever faithful and true, for that is His immutable character, but that He is true to us who are not. The perfect Friend came to pursue enemies, to give His life a ransom in the place of us who were rebels destined for death, so we could live with Him forever. Compared to Christ, we all fall short, but we are sanctified to be good friends by learning of Him and living in Him- selflessly serving, lavishly loving, refreshing and building up one another. (Matthew 20:28; John 3:16; 15:13-16; Romans 3:23; 5:6-10; 1 Corinthians 16:14-18; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:4-5; Revelation 3:14)

What swerves us away from putting our trust in Him? Because we live in the flesh, we are prone to act in it, limiting our vision to what we can touch and see and forgetting that there is only one Savior. But faith calls us higher. When our security is fixed where it is meant to be, in Christ our best true Friend, we can see others more realistically, correct unfair expectations accordingly, and grow together in our steadfastness in Christ.

“Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! lover of my soul;
friends may fail me, foes assail me,
he, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
he is with me to the end.”  ~J. Wilbur Chapman (1910)

My Lord, tether me to You as first love. Teach me the unwavering faithfulness You extend to me, so in friendship with me, others recognize and come to know You.

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Isn’t it so like God to orchestrate things in ways that are convoluted to natural human tendency? Everything about Him is superior to our limited vision, ability, and power. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways are far higher, His paths are beyond our tracing out. In order to keep setting us straight and remind us Who is really in charge, He sovereignly designs our circumstances and calls us to missions where we cannot help but know He is all in all. (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-36)

Acknowledging our limitations, weaknesses, and that our hearts are prone to wander is key to understanding the magnificence of our salvation. That Jesus would choose us, and willingly give His life for us, is the ultimate epiphany in humbling us before the Almighty. He is the Source, not only of our very lives, but of the awakening of our spiritual senses to His great mercy and immeasurable love toward us. (John 15:16)

Knowing this, how are we to live? A pompous swagger in self-confidence gives a false impression of our Servant-King. Being certain of God’s gift of faith and our calling to salvation instead infuses us with gratitude, and bubbles forth in humble submission to His ways and zealous outworking of the good He intends us to do. We conduct ourselves with the self-giving of Jesus so attention is drawn to Him, the One worthy of praise. (Matthew 5:16; 20:28; Ephesians 2:8-10)

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross… it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:3-8,13

Where do we hold misplaced or inaccurate confidence in ourselves? Are we prone to compare our ideas, talents, and actions to a low common denominator rather than to God’s grace, and therefore foolishly think of ourselves more highly than we ought? What difference would it make, in our own attitude and in others’ attraction to Christ in us, if we boasted only in Him and His cross? (Romans 12:3; Galatians 6:14)

Lord Jesus, thank You for bearing my shame to bring about my righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. May I so walk that Your life, Your wisdom, and the power of Your Cross are lifted high and praised.

“Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?

“Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, I am against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations… And you shall know that I am the Lord God. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace… because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life.” Ezekiel 13:3-10,22

“The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who prophesies builds up the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:3-4

It can be a subtle slide to write and follow a gospel according to me. The prophets of Israel were condemned by the Lord for making their own truth and attaching His name and inspiration to it. He would have none of that, condemning both them and their warped messages.

Today, with an onslaught of diluted standards and man-handled, self-guided convictions, we find feelings have led the way to defining ‘right’ and ‘acceptable.’ ‘If what I’m now feeling isn’t according to God’s moral law, then change the law.’ The spirit of this age has replaced the Spirit of God for determining our right and wrong, the stands we take and the messages we speak. There is nothing new to this game. (1 Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 2:1-3)

Where are we attempting to placate ourselves, and others, by sweeping biblical truth under the rug to avoid conviction, to justify our actions, to win (meaningless) favor? Do we really think that by proclaiming “peace” over a decision or situation we can bring it about? Are we convinced our wishful thinking can persuade God to diminish His holy standard for us, to assuage our guilt or coddle our affections? Where have we become so accustomed to falsehood that we’ve adjusted our living to its corrupt light?

In what areas is my thinking getting sucked into the spirit of the world? Where does it need rectifying, maturing, re-aligning with the Lord’s? What opinions and habits need to be transformed by a renewed mind? (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 14:20)

The only true peace we will enjoy is when we are whole-hearted about our Lord, wholly yielded to His word, and filled with and guided by His Spirit of peace that is not the world’s. (John 14:27) 

Triune God, renew me through and through by Your Holy Spirit. Cause me, with pure affection and full allegiance, to follow You alone. Grant me keen discernment for these days, and the boldness to act and speak for Your sake.

“To one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!” Psalm 50:23

“So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:4

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:15-20

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.” Colossians 4:5

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:13-15

The grumble and vibration of thunder were my first waking realization, and upon opening my eyes, lightning lit the dark like a flare before dawn. A steady, noisy rain pock-marks the water’s surface in constant, quivering dimples. How should I change my morning plans? What will this day now hold? First, I must worship, and in the sanctuary, consult my King. The Potentate of time knows this disruption; in fact, He ordains all in the heavens and on earth to perform His bidding. If I take time with Him first, listening to His word and entrusting Him with my moments and hours, He will lead my mind by His Spirit, give understanding, and direct the way I should go. (Psalm 32:8; 50:1; Proverbs 3:5-6)

Often our agendas are altered by events great or small– a turn of nature, a human cancellation, a change of ability due to unforeseen circumstances. Do we bristle with impatience, frustration, or anger at the ruin of our plans, or look to take advantage of opportunities that had not before been considered? Does irritation render us wasteful complainers, or will we choose thankfulness and trust the Lord to redirect the stewardship of our hours?

To whom might I reach out, by call, note, or visit? What could I do with open time that has needed doing and been neglected? Where am I needed or could I be a blessing indoors instead of out and about? What new facets of my God do I see in His superintendence of every detail, including the sanctification of my character?

My Lord, please set Your order to my every day. May my agenda be Yours, for the interior and exterior of my life, that I accomplish Your will. May I take full advantage of every interruption and opportunity You place before me, for the upbuilding of others and the furthering of Your kingdom purposes and glory. (John 17:4)

“My feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
    violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies…

Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken
    and rebuked every morning…

But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end…

I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:2-7,12-14,16-17,23-26

“Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone. I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land… And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes… And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:16-20

The Psalmist is torn inside with angst and envy, mental turmoil over the unfairness of the wicked getting by with pride and violence, and prospering… until he goes into the sanctuary. There he contemplates his God, and God’s perfect character, and his soul rests in God’s presence, His counsel, His order of all things, His enough. The one who was slipping found his hope, his mind, His heart, his sustenance, restored.

The prophet tells those scattered in exile, as punishment for their rebellion, that even in lands distant from home, the Lord has been their sanctuary. Their place with Him would bring reunion and revival as He would redeem their spirit.

Sanctuary: a place of refuge or safety; a holy place; the inmost recess or holiest part of a temple or church. When we find ourselves in the far lands of envy, bitterness, or disappointment, our affections scattered among strange gods foreign to our intended first love, we can lose our center and grow spiritually cold. But when we delight in the sanctuary that is our God, He transforms our spirits, chiseling at wayward habits, bringing our senses and emotions under divine control, reorienting our loves. (Revelation 2:4)

What caverns of my life need to pulse anew, and with fresh passion for Him?

Lord, keep me coming to You, my sanctuary. May my worship there beat life into my spirit, even as it honors Thee.

“I saw vanity under the sun: one person [whose] eyes are never satisfied with riches… This also is vanity and an unhappy business.” Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

“They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them.” Ezekiel 7:19-20

“Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs… As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10,17-19

The trouble with earthly riches is that they’re just that: earthly. They are temporary, and distract from the heavenly and eternal. They were not created to be worshiped, but appreciated, and misusing them, or elevating them to idol or redemptive status through disordered affection, leaves us wanting, unfulfilled, and under God’s judgment. (Romans 1:18,21-23)

What draws us to slip into the trap of tinsel, to value shiny and material things more than we should? If we feel a sense of worth in what we own, we must remember God owns all, and what we have is merely on loan from Him. If we wield our treasure as a life-bargaining tool, to win us favor, popularity, or reputation, we must remind ourselves that being made in God’s image, not one of our own making, is our imprint of value. (Genesis 1:26; 1 Corinthians 4:7; James 1:17)

Where do things of this world get us? To maintaining, to fussing, to comparing, to envy, to ‘never enough.’ We cannot be satisfied, because God made us to be satisfied in Him, not things, not accolades, accomplishments, or acumen. We were made for eternity, to seek what is above. Let us turn from the allure of the present age and its trinkets to put our trust, and love, and identity, in what is of God. Let us choose contentment in Him, and all He provides for us so we can live full lives unto Him. (Psalm 16:11; Ecclesiastes 3:11;  Matthew 6:19-20; Colossians 3:1-2; 2 Peter 1:3-8)

Father, teach me to value You above all else. Develop in me Your qualities so my life bears fruit for Your glory, and the eternal blessing of others.