Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
March 5, 2022
Read Psalm 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd. I lack nothing. 2 He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; 3 he keeps me alive. He guides me in proper paths for the sake of his good name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me. Your rod and your staff protect me. 5 You set a table for me right in front of my enemies. You bathe my head in oil; my cup is so full it spills over! 6 Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the LORD’s house as long as I live.
Good Morning! Even in our darkest moments, God is with us!
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “How did I get here?” By this, I mean those times when you find yourself in some uncomfortable or difficult situation that you did not consider being the outcome of your decisions. God blesses and challenges us with the gift of free will. Now, I believe that this is a good thing because I don’t want to be a puppet acting out a puppet master’s agenda.
Many Hollywood movies have addressed this idea in movies like The Matrix. God created us and within our being is a desire for freedom. As God’s children, we are free to make decisions. Likewise, we must freely accept the consequences of our decisions. When we accept Christ, we must first admit that we are sinners. In the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages, the word sin is an archer’s term that means you missed the mark.
As followers of Christ, the mark at which we are aiming is to be like Christ as we journey towards eternal life. Anytime we stray from the path, we have sinned. Now if we realize our sin, stop and fix our path, then we are back on track. For example, perhaps our arrow needs to be cleaned or the feathers adjusted.
However, if we stray from our path and continue to sin, we grow further and further away. It’s like following the directions to get from point A to point B. If I make a wrong turn early in the trip and don’t readjust, then the longer my journey, the further away I am from my destination. As God’s children, our lives are like that for if we continue moving away from our path, we might find ourselves asking ourselves, “How did I end up here?”
The Good News for believers is that no matter how far we stray, we are always welcome back. When we are hopelessly lost, God is waiting for our call. Always ready to help us: anytime, anyplace. All we must do is turn our lives over to Christ and we will be saved. This is not the end of the story. Once saved, we are called to help and love our neighbors so that all might be saved in the name of Jesus, Our Lord, and Savior.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. We are so blessed by You. We want our freedom, yet we are often not ready to understand how to use our freedom. Thank you for leading us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: My situation may be challenging, but God is always good.
Say it out loud: Praise God! Pastor Liz
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