Day By Day #8

Day by Day #8

MORNING/MIDDAY OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 30:15–16, 18

            This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

            “In repentance and rest is your salvation,

               In quietness and trust is your strength,

               but you would have none of it.

            You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’

               Therefore you will flee!

            You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’

               Therefore your pursuers will be swift! . . .

            Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

               therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.

            For the LORD is a God of justice.

               Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Devotional

God offered this promise—to be gracious to his people, Israel—when they found themselves threatened with the invasion of Assyria’s conquering army, an army that had already overwhelmed the nations around them. Instead of trusting in God for salvation and strength to face the Assyrians, the Israelites became impatient and relied on their horses and chariots (the glamour weapons of that day). They chose short-term relief and a quick fix. As a result, they fled, making a series of bad decisions with destructive, long-term consequences.

It’s a temptation we too often succumb to today when we are fearful. Instead of waiting for God to act, we take matters into our own hands. We make decisions without consulting God (or others), and we make assumptions about him without checking them out. Yet God invites us to wait for him and to rest in his love, allowing him to guide us in our decisions each day.

Question to Consider

What first comes to mind in response to these words from God for you today: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength”?

Prayer

Lord, it is so easy for me to take matters into my own hands, especially when faced with trials and pressures. I want to be quiet and trust in you. Show me what it means to wait on you when things appear to be going badly. I want your will, not mine, to be done in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

MIDDAY/EVENING OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:9, 11–15, 19–20, 28

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. . . . He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” . . .

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” . . .

[Peter] said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.”

Devotional

We are guilty of faulty thinking when we believe something to be true that is false—whether about God, others, or ourselves. Sooner or later, faulty thinking leads to feelings of powerlessness and a great deal of unnecessary pain. Moreover, it results in broken relationships. Three common (and deadly) forms of faulty thinking include:

        •     It’s all or nothing. This kind of thinking makes things bigger or more black-and-white than they are.

        •     I’m offended. This refers to taking offense before having all the facts.

        •     Things will never change. The future is fixed and so change is impossible.^a

The apostle Peter believed things would never change. As a Jew, he had never entered the home of a Gentile. He thought that Jews and Gentiles should forever remain separate, even as the first-century church began to grow. Yet God showed Peter his thinking was wrong, correcting his faulty assumptions and freeing both Peter and those around him for a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

Question to Consider

To which of the three forms of faulty thinking are you most susceptible? How has it resulted in unnecessary pain or broken relationships in your life?

Prayer

Father, show me where I am engaging in faulty thinking, or making assumptions about a situation or person that are not true. Fill me with the Holy Spirit that I might not be easily misled. Instead, grant me patience and gentleness when I am susceptible to faulty thinking. Help me to mature and see only what is true. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

^a For a fuller exploration of this theme of faulty thinking, see Geri Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Woman, 167–90.