Today’s scripture: Proverbs 3:1-6 (NRSV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
A new day has begun! You feel rested and refreshed. Everything seems simpler in the quiet innocence of morning. The sound of birds singing in the streaming sunshine seems to announce that God is ushering in new possibilities. You say a few prayers, and then read a few verses while enjoying breakfast. Yes, God is present and powerful!
But, as Joan Rivers would say, “Can we talk?” After a day out in the world, my resolve to acknowledge God in every situation often becomes “I acknowledge God in every situation except the one that’s driving me crazy!”
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. About thirty years ago a Christian friend of mine said to me, “Your mind is like a puppy. You keep training it, and it will finally respond, even though you don’t think it ever will.” The best thing to do is: practice with persistent perseverance! With God’s help, we can become good at it!
Thankfully, there are many things we can do to develop faith and trust. Here are a few:
- Before you go to sleep each night, find some time to place any untrusting thoughts that have developed during the day into God’s trustworthy hands! This may become one of your favorite times of the day! And, it’s especially important if your quiet time with God is early in the morning, after which faith is often assaulted by the trouble of the world.
- Spice up your prayer life! If you haven’t already done so, click on “How to Pray” near the top of this page. It’s a great resource on how to deepen and vary our prayer lives, and therefore increase our faith.
- Share your challenges with other committed, loving Christians, and pray together for change. Spouses, best friends, and Oasis groups are great for this.
Faith seems quite incredible when you consider the Hebrews 11:1 definition, “Now faith is . . . the conviction of things not seen.” However, maybe it isn’t so hard after all! Whenever you talk to God, you are exercising faith! Yes, whenever you pray, you are addressing your heavenly parent who you cannot see! So, we operate in faith every day in a big way!
Recently a friend of mine played Alan Jackson’s CD of hymns, and for the first time I heard the following words, written in 1882. May it be our prayer today!
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus . . .
O for grace to trust Him more!
Thought for the day: No matter what happens today, Lord, I’m not going to leave you behind!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.