A Devotional Moment

Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. ~ 1 Corinthians 7:17

Many people do not like change. They establish a safe routine, often out of a fear of the unknown, and do not deviate. When thrust into a situation that upsets that routine feelings of failure or unease can creep in. Routine can become a way to hide from hurt. In so doing, we harm our relationship with God, even if we pray every day. But God, as always, has other plans. He expects us to reach our highest goals and to have purpose in our lives. Routine can also take us to a complacency of things and people. We ignore the blessing and count it as something that will always be there—or worse, something we deserve and therefore don’t need to nurture. But, again, God will always bring us to new understanding.

In The Curious Prayer Life of Muriel Smith, the protagonist is jolted out of her routine. Contending with events outside that safety, she finds that life is for the living and secret adventure calls to her nature. Things she thought she saw clearly are now mundane, and God grabs her by the hand to show her a new and exciting life.

Do you have a tendency to be presumptuous in the way you view people and things around you? Does the familiar, the routine, keep you from seeing the truth about situations and people? Perhaps you take for granted your spouse, friend, parents, or even your job. Look beyond the routine to see the heart of people and the wonderment of the every-day. Nothing exists by chance. God has His hand on everything. And, nothing is forever. It should not bring fear to think that what we have today may be gone tomorrow, but rather, we should gain a sense of appreciation. The old adage is wise: stop and smell the roses.

LORD, WHEN I BECOME COMPLACENT IN ROUTINE, I ASK THAT YOU SHOW ME ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER TO ME. HELP ME TO SEE THOSE BLESSINGS AND TO BE BOTH JOYFUL AND THANKFUL. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY, AMEN.