Daily Devo: June 26 The New Journey!

Daily Devotional to begin our day the right way!

*A little disclaimer: As we begin this new journey, you’re going to have to unpack some baggage right here on the side of the road. Take out your need to be right, that sack of grudges, your bundle of resentments, and even your book of Nobody Likes Me. Throw them in the trash because you won’t need them anymore. Satan will try to tell you that you do, but trust me when I tell you that they really are just trash. GOD IS ENOUGH and we’re going to prove that. When He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9a “My grace is sufficient for you for power is made perfect in weakness”, that is what He means. But read the entire sentence, made perfect in WEAKNESS. Growing flowers isn’t easy when you’re used to bringing up weeds. It takes patience and persistence. So, stick with it, for new believers remember that it means cultivating that relationship with God EVERY SINGLE DAY. For more mature believers, stick it with it because as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:12 “if you think you are standing watch out that you do not fall”.

So, we know what complaining is, we know what it does to relationships, and we know how God feels about it. It’s time to throw it off to the side and move on to better habits. Today we move on to a whole new expedition, one of Thankfulness. We begin to see circumstances through love and life through grace-filled eyes. We begin to draw on God’s grace each day in prayer and through His Word so that when others see us, they see Him. When others encounter us whether good day or bad, they encounter Him. Want to know how to KNOW God is enough? Begin in the beginning. Begin with a foundation of gratitude and before you know it, your well is an overflowing spring of only Him.

Let’s begin today with Psalm 136. Read it over and over and just LOOK at all that gratitude!

The first thing that stands out to me is that “for his steadfast love endures forever” is repeated 26 times!! They are praising all the miracles that God provided for the Israelites after escaping Egypt, but it’s His steadfast love that they are most thankful for. I think when we look back over our lives and we think about answered prayers and blessings, we end up coming to some of the same answers. It’s not the tangible miracles that we are most grateful for, it’s His blessings and faithfulness and grace that we are most thankful for. In the end, we are most thankful for these aspects of God’s character, not what He gives us and yet these are what we often forget the most in our present prayer.

We are creating new habits and in order to create new habits, we must be intentional every day. So, write on a post-it and stick it to your computer or write it on your mirror or set a reminder on your phone. Write “Be thankful for God’s steadfast love that endures forever. If I don’t know what steadfast means, look it up.” When we say “be thankful” we mean to hit your knees and pray. We mean sing praises, we mean to let the joy bells ring out in your heart even if that toddler is wiping peanut butter and jelly all over your pants at that very moment. THAT is temporary, but His love is forever!! Hold that truth strong and close! Bury it so deep in your heart that no matter what happens in your day, those words keep circulating through your bloodstream. We are going to fight the good fight and we are going to begin our training with thankfulness. Have a blessed day and PLEASE pass it on! 😊