Day 8 – Daily Devotional – January 12, 2025 – Keeping Company With God
READ
Matt 8:28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
EXAMINE
Hello, Bethel Does any of the following sound familiar? Turn off the alarm clock at 5:50, get a shower, get dressed and start the coffee by 6:20. Wake the kids up…3 times, make their breakfast, pack their lunches, and get in the car by 7:40. Get to work by 8:00, have your 4 boring meetings, get home, start dinner and finish the dishes by 6:30. Watch Wheel of Fortune, do 3 loads of laundry, make the lunches for tomorrow, say “hello” to your spouse, crawl under the covers, and repeat the process the following day. God, who??? “I don’t have time!”
APPLY
If we’re honest, this is probably all too familiar. It’s called The American Dream and the winner gets to take Advil every day because of the pressure, limited sleep, and financial burden. Working to provide for our families is very biblical; we just don’t want to forget the God of the Bible in the hustle and bustle. We need to “make space” for God, His word and His church. There must be intentionality about this, otherwise being a “Christian” will be in name only. Every human has the same 24 hour day. It’s how we use those hours that determines whether we’re “running the race” of faith or simply running the race for supposed “success.” Remember: All the blessings of abundance are TEMPORAL, while all the downsides of abundance are ETERNAL. As Jesus himself said, “What good will it be for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt 16:26
PRAY
Sit down during this fast and sit in silence for several minutes to quiet your mind and spirit, then evaluate the priorities of what your typical day looks like. After doing that, make a determined decision to actively carve out time to “Get away with me and you’ll recover your life” as our passage commands. Remind yourself of His goodness in your life. Think back to when you came to faith and pledged your love and devotion to Christ. Make fresh promises and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to fulfill those.