Devotion for Friday, August 23, 2024

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn” (Matthew 11:17).

Whether you are jubilant or sorrowful, it does not matter.  What matters is whether you are doing it for yourself or you are seeking the Lord.  Our faith is founded upon a matter of the heart, not upon how you feel.  Sin has been within you and it has been displacing God.  We are the created and He is the Creator.  He gives you gifts to use; but are they used for His purpose?

This world is messed up.  Our priorities are out of joint.  This is the Father’s world.  It was even when sin entered the world.  God’s plan did not stop there.  Our faith is not about making things right, it is about being right with the Lord.  To sing and dance is a fine thing, but to walk with the Lord is life.  Jesus, You have invited us to walk with You.  That invitation stands anew each day.

Lord Jesus, I do come to You for miracles and want to feel what I want to feel.  I mistake me for You. I put myself first.  I am not first.  You did not put Yourself first, even though You are.  Help me to clear all the cobwebs out of my thinking and come to You, the author and finisher of my faith that I may walk humbly with You today.  Lead me to learn and to do those things You place before me.  Amen.