Daily devotion

Going for a Walk

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By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 ESV

I love going for walks, whether at the park, along the beach or around our neighborhood. It is my way of not only getting fresh air, but also finding a place to think and talk things out with God. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God. Now we aren’t given the details but maybe his last day on earth went a little like this. He put on his robe and sandals, kissed his wife goodbye and said, “I’m headed out for a walk.” It was just like every other day, except that this time Enoch never came home.

Though Enoch’s disappearance certainly must have seemed strange, what is interesting to me is that no one wondered where he went. People who knew Enoch recognized that he walked so closely with God that if He were missing, then God must have taken Him. The Bible doesn’t explain exactly how this occurred, but it tells us that God was pleased with him and that he did not see death. Did you get that part? “He did not see death!” Now strange or not, the testimony Enoch left for us is both a challenge and a promise. Today Enoch’s life challenges us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and yet it also includes the promise that if we do that, God will walk with us and His promise is that He will take us on a path that goes on forever, and that for forever, He will walk with us!

A Divine Hurry

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But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 KJV

Based on today’s reading, we might conclude that God wants us to just relax, slow down and wait. But if we read on, the verse also calls us to action. It tells us we will, “Run and not be weary!” That got me to checking out in the New Testament about how Jesus repeatedly sprang into action. Here is just one example of the many that I found.

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:3

Jesus showed us that, though He was not in a hurry, it didn’t mean that He never moved quickly. In fact, when Jesus hurried into action, because of His great love. That kind of hurry will motivate us to rush to the side a friend in a car accident, grab our wife’s hand and pray for God to ease her pain after surgery or give without a second thought to a couple whose house has just burned down. Jesus hurried to the cross to give His life for us all. So why not hurry to Him and ask what He has for us to do for someone else today?

Thanksgiving

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  Rejoice always and delight in your faith; be unceasing and persistent in prayer; in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Amp

My sister keeps a jar on her shelf filled with little slips of paper on which are written things for which she is grateful, then on Thanksgiving, she pours them out and reads them, as a reminder of the things that she can be thankful for. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul, has a similar idea, but he goes one radical step beyond gratitude for blessings. Instead, Paul tells us that in every situation, no matter the circumstances, we are to rejoice, delight in our faith and give thanks. To be honest, I have not learned how can how to do that all the time, but I have picked up a few clues along the pathway as I have followed Jesus. God has shown me that the rejoicing, thankfulness and prayer Paul talks about isn’t about me: it is about Jesus. He reminds me that when Jesus suffered terribly on the cross for us, He endured it all, because pleasing His Father was His greatest joy. The joy that Jesus had, certainly had nothing to do with his situation. He was nailed to rough wooden beams, between two others, who were likewise dying in agony, just a few feet away. He heard the soldiers mocking him and saw them gambling for his last bits of clothing. Yet Jesus had the strength to forgive His enemies, see to the care of His mother and to give the promise of paradise to a thief. Jesus had joy, in spite of His situation, because He loved those around Him, till the very end. This Thanksgiving, whether we sit at a table, surrounded by our family, are alone at home, or even confined to a hospital bed, there is always someone we can love. There is always at least one person, who we can forgive, one who we can encourage or one who we can pray for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May God watch over you, keep you close to His heart and draw you closer to Himself this year in the precious Holy name of Jesus I ask His blessing. Amen!

Faith goes up the stairway that love has built and looks out the window that hope has opened. Charles Spurgeon