Flashlight
Would you follow a prescription or recipe for joy?
Verse of the Day
“Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!”
Today’s Devotional
Recently I woke up in the middle of the night and got out of bed. I couldn’t sleep and I did not want to wake my husband with my tossing and turning, so I decided to change locations. There were no lights on in the house, and as I walked away from the bed I had to stop and allow myself to get oriented to the dark. It was a very disconcerting feeling to know exactly where I was and yet not be able to see anything. It was that dark.
Then I remembered that I had my phone in my hand, so I turned on the flashlight (making sure not to point it in the direction of my sleeping husband). That one act changed everything. I could navigate exactly where I needed to go without stubbing my toe or making any noise.
What if gratitude is our flashlight? What if practicing gratitude is a tangible way we walk in obedience to God?
Today’s verse gives us a prescription for joy. Obey and search. Is it really that simple?
God has given us an instruction manual. Not everyone who believes in God reads the instruction Manual. Many more read the Manual and decide not to follow the instructions.
I can tell you from personal experience that there was a time in my life when I read the Bible (occasionally), but I did not obey. There was no joy in my life at that time. I found abundant joy when I began to obey and when I made my relationship with God – my search for Him – a consistent priority in my life. That’s not to say it’s always easy, because it is not.
Choosing to find things to be grateful for is one of the ways we can obey God. He tells us MANY times in the Bible to be thankful. Gratitude can also light the way, just like my flashlight did, in our search for God. When we choose to be grateful for all of the little things, we light the way to find God moving in ways we might not have seen otherwise.
The beauty of these two verses is the outcome: As we obey, as we seek God, as we learn, our lives turn into displays of our gratitude. Not just a list in our journal or mind, but actively seeking out how we can live in order to display how grateful we are to our good, GOOD God. Obedience is active gratitude.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 1: Have you ever thanked God for light? We can be grateful for the sun and the light it shines on our world. We can be thankful for the moon. We can be thankful for the truth of God that shines on the dark places in our lives. We can be thankful for lightbulbs and flashlights. Darkness can be scary, and the antidote for darkness is light. What lights are you grateful for?
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 2: When was the last time you turned on a sink or a faucet? Are you grateful for your access to clean water? This is something that I tend to take for granted. I’ve got a big cup sitting next to me that is full of water. (Let’s pause here and be amazed that I’m actually drinking water instead of Coke Zero.) When I poured this cup of water earlier I did not express gratitude. Having clean water so readily available is a luxury that much of the world does not have. Are you grateful for clean water?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How are you willing to obey God’s instructions to be thankful?
How can you search for God with all your heart today?
How does your gratitude light the way?
What light are you grateful for?
How and why are you grateful for clean water?