Morning Devotional 030926 Coming Home

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

March 9, 2026

Proverbs 3:1-12

1 My son, don’t forget my instruction. Let your heart guard my commands, 2 because they will help you live a long time and provide you with well-being. 3 Don’t let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Bind them on your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will find favor and approval in the eyes of God and humanity. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. 6 Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight. 7 Don’t consider yourself wise. Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 Then your body will be healthy and your bones strengthened. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first of all your crops. 10 Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will burst with wine. 11 Don’t reject the instruction of the LORD, my son; don’t despise his correction. 12 The LORD loves those he corrects, just like a father who treats his son with favor.

Good Morning, Trust in the Lord with all your heart!

How do we build trust? As children, we innately trust others because we have few things we can do on our own. As we grow developmentally, we start to take over tasks, but our ultimate trust is in our parents. When we are frightened or unsure, we retreat back to the safety of those we trust. 

We continue to grow and develop our own knowledge. We see others do things differently. We begin to experiment and somewhere we begin to believe that we are self-reliant, and our need to trust our parents starts to waver. This trust is tested when we believe that our new way is better. 

Then, something happens and the parameters we have constructed for ourselves start to break apart. Our foundation begins to crumble and we return to the safety net of our parents. 

Our relationship with God resembles this scenario. We trust and obey God as we have been taught. Gradually, we venture out and see other ways to live our lives, and decide that we don’t need to follow God because our new friends do things differently, and it works for a while. Then, something happens for which we are unprepared, and when we are ready, we come home to God, often with our tail between our legs. 

Our Holy Communion liturgy includes the words: "When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast." Blessed be the God of love and mercy who always welcomes us home. 

God of Wisdom, you bless us abundantly! You are patient with us and allow us to make the choice to come home. We love you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Thought for the day: In times of uncertainty, do not fear; have faith.

God loves us! Pastor Liz