Focus of the Day: God's Provision

  • Focus of the Day: God's Provision

Sunday, January 16, 2011

January 15

Isaiah 32: 9-10
Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.  In a year and some days you will be troubled, you complacent women; for the vintage will fail, the gathering will not come.


I am not a professional photographer (obviously!).  I do like to take pictures, however, and I am working to get better at it as time goes by.  The above represents what I might get if I never tried to improve, but just stay where I’m at.  The above represents being satisfied with mediocrity. 
It is all too easy to become complacent—in family, in work, in our spiritual life (in our photo blogs).  We are satisfied with where we are.  We are comfortable.  Our behavior in these situations seems to say: “I’m not going to push for anything better, but I will hope things don’t get any worse.”  If we are complacent in our spiritual life, all other areas are not far behind. 
I thought about not doing a devotional tonight.  Here was my thought process: “I didn’t do one last night because I was so tired and it was late when we got back home.  Why bother doing one tonight—I haven’t even taken a picture.  It rained all day and there were no good things to take pictures of.  I’ll just skip today too.  No one ever reads this blog anyway.  I don’t want to be dogmatic about it and feel like I have to do it every single day.  It’s okay to skip two days in a row.  Don’t worry about it.” 
Did you pick up on anything there . . .lets see . . . umm . . .EXCUSES?!?!  It’s easy to make excuses and rationalize staying right where you are.  But in the case of my blog, however, I knew this was something God gave me to do.  I thought about the times when it was 10pm and I had nothing for the day and He gave me a picture and a Scripture.  As I reflected on God’s faithfulness, it encouraged me to push forward.  I wanted to honor what He has already done, what I know He will do, and what He was called me to do.  That motivated me to get going. 
The same can be said for our spiritual life.  We should constantly be pushing forward, delving deeper into God’s Word, striving to know Him better and tuning our hearts and ears to His direction and voice.  If you have become complacent in your spiritual life, reflect back on what God has done for you.  Don’t feel like God has done anything for you lately?  Maybe you should read your Bible—read the gospels, focus on the crucifixion and the resurrection—that should give you a starting point. 
There is new life in Christ—that should be motivation enough to push through laziness and complacency to know Him more! 

Father, thank You for the new life You give us.  Thank You for revealing Yourself to us.  Thank You for not tempting us beyond what we can bear.  Thank You for never leaving or forsaking us.  Thank You for the calling You have placed on our lives.  May Your power be perfected in our weakness as You draw us ever closer to Yourself and out of our complacency and excuses.  May You be glorified in all these things.  Amen.

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