Day: November 21, 2019
MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST
|
|
|
DAILY DEVOTIONS · NOVEMBER 21, 2019 They Who Wait
READ: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV)
TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Waiting seems like the last thing that would give you strength. Many times, when we think of waiting, we think of feeling tired.
Weary.
Anxious.
However, the Bible tells us that when we “wait for the Lord,” our strength is renewed.
When waiting makes us feel fatigued, it’s because we’re waiting for the wrong things. Are we waiting for the perfect opportunity to arrive or do we believe God can work through any circumstance? Are we waiting for someone in our lives to change or are we willing to see how God can change our own heart?
We’re either waiting on God or we’re waiting on something else. One grants strength and the other does not. If you don’t want to grow weary or faint in your Christian walk, I encourage you to ensure you are waiting on God who is your source of strength in waiting seasons.
PRAY: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the strength and hope that only You provide in seasons of waiting. May I have the focus to place my faith in You no matter what season I’m facing. In Jesus Christ Name, I pray, Amen.
REFLECT: Are you waiting for the perfect opportunity to arrive or do you believe God can work through any circumstance, while you wait?
RELATED RESOURCES: The Beloved Boutique offers beautifully designed Christian stationery to help you intentionally study the Bible, prioritize what matters most, and connect with God in simple, practical, and meaningful ways. Shop now at www.thebelovedboutique.com.
CONNECT: Find more encouragement from Christina Patterson at www.belovedwomen.org and download her “Worry-Free” video Bible study + prayer guide here.
© 2019 by Christina Patterson. All rights reserved.
Spiritual Warfare and Sin: The Seared Conscience
To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.—Titus 1:15 But when a conscience has become seared, when a man has played with the fire and burned his conscience and calloused it until he can handle the hot iron of sin without shrinking, there is no longer any safety for him. Paul wrote in his epistle about those to whom nothing is pure any longer, “but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” Here Paul speaks of an inward corruption, revealed in impure thoughts and soiled language. I am just as afraid of people with soiled tongues as I am of those with a communicable disease. Actually, a foul tongue is evidence of a deeper spiritual disease and Paul goes on to tell us that those with defiled consciences become reprobates, something just washed up on the shore, a moral shipwreck. Echoes from Eden, 64-65. “Oh Lord, deliver me from that ‘inward corruption.’ Guard my mind and my tongue; convict me of any carelessness or straying. Keep my conscience alive and active. Lord, I really don’t want to end up a dirty old man, ‘washed up on the shore, a moral shipwreck.’ Amen.” |