WRITING A DEVOTIONAL

WRITING A DEVOTIONAL

Back in 2003 after having spent the year before reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Simple Abundance" I took her suggestion to heart and wrote my own daily devotional. Each day I took a line or two from one of the various spiritual authors from the last three centuries I was reading and wrote my own thoughts on the subject. I then looked for a scripture that illustrated the truth that had been revealed to me. What follows is the result.

"Our greatest bondage is to have our own way; our greatest freedom is to let God have His way." Warren Wiersbe

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

October 12


“What can He do but take possession of the soul that surrenders itself to Him?  And of course He sanctifies that which is His own.  Everything given to God becomes, by that very act, holy and set apart for His use alone.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 9/28

How many times do we “take” our problems to God, and then leave with them?  We think just letting God look at them will some how make all the difference.  It’s sort of like our children running up to us with a cut on their finger, then running off before we have a chance to clean and bandage it.  Matthew 23:19 says the altar makes the gift sacred.  If we would but see our troubles as gifts from God meant to be put on His Holy Altar so that they can be sanctified, we would receive help in our time of need.  Yesterday while singing the song Just Forget About Yourself I realized that looking after myself originated in my childhood because my parents, while there physically, were not there emotionally.  I also realized I continued that behavior into my adulthood.  Now, I felt God was calling me to stop looking after myself and instead to let Him look after me. The only way I will ever be able to change my old self-reliant habit is to make sure I never take back something I’ve laid on God’s altar.  Each time I find myself running back to retrieve it I will remind myself that it belongs to God now.  It’s His, not mine.  And I will praise Him.

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”  Hebrews 13:15

4 comments:

  1. Ah, thank you! I too am being called to realize the Lord looking after me, especially in the smallest areas: watching my time!
    Thanking God for you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for this message> I too have in front of me the words " Acknowledge---Receive, Hunility and Gratitude to our Father of Light,s and that brings in his impenetrable shield of ONENESS with it . Surrendering all self, and selfish and " I" and " Me" on the altar and asking God to take them off me, I am then HIS , doing His will and knowing He is in control, not me.. Merri

    ReplyDelete