Draw Close
January 5, 2025
Proverbs 4:23-27 Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life. never talk deceptively and don't keep company with people whose speech is corrupt. Let your eyes look directly ahead; fix your gaze straight in front of you. Carefully measure the paths for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Lately, a feeling of inevitable change seems to lurk around me. There are so many fronts on which change can occur. Change, in the past, was mostly unexpected. Now, change is inevitable. There will be changes in parents as they get older. There will be changes in family members that deal with health issues. There will be changes with children as they grow up and make their way.
But my constant is the Word of God. In this time when change is no longer unexpected, Scripture must be my simple revelation as to what God will do for me, in me, and through me. I must have quiet faith in His sufficient grace.
My battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan and his demonic forces that use flesh and blood to oppose the Lord's work. If I hope to win the war and finish the work, I must use the spiritual equipment God has provided (Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Corinthians 10:1-6)
How can I be compassionate on this day? How can I mourn what has been lost but give care outside of myself and my pain - for I am not desolated. Allow me to see this burden transformed into a blessing.
O Lord, help me to be a godly visionary who sees the invisible, chooses the imperishable, and does the impossible. Help me measure my problems by the greatness of God, not by my weakness and inexperience. Please help me to stand by faith like Nehemiah and change my world.
James 4:7-8, 10 Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.