God Speaks Peace to the Faithful
How can you listen and obey today?
Verse of the Day
“I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.”
Today’s Devotional
How many times have you given someone advice or suggestions and they did not follow it? If you are a parent, this is a frequent occurrence. “Your room has to be clean before you leave this weekend. It would probably be a good idea to work on it a little bit each day so that it’s not a huge job Thursday night.” But then Thursday after school, this same child is stressed and overwhelmed (and grouchy) because she left her room a giant mess all week, never taking the time to make any progress, and has a massive task to complete in one evening.
Or you have a friend at work that is really struggling with staying on top of his priorities. You give credible advice, telling him to make a list each day of what needs to be accomplished, come in a few minutes early, don’t get caught up in office gossip, don’t leave each day until the major items are completed, pay attention to what the successful people in the office are doing (and imitate those things). The next month, after not making any positive progress, that same employee has taken none of your suggestions. Usually, this comes with lots of excuses.
Now let’s apply this to ourselves. God’s advice is pretty clear on a large scale. We get messed up in the details. Love God, love others. Sounds easy, right? But what does that look like each day? How do I listen carefully to what the Lord is saying?
Loving God can look many different ways. For me, it looks like making him a priority in my life. Getting up early so that I can start my day with his Word and prayer and journaling. I generally listen to praise music in the car to direct my mind and heart to focus on God. But then life happens. How do I love God at work or anywhere else? On my best days, I can bring an infectious joy. I can have a grateful heart for the job I have and the opportunities in front of me each day, even the things on my “to-do” list that I dread. I can love others by seeing each human I encounter as a beloved child of God….even the really annoying ones.
Ultimately, I believe that if I can focus on God first thing in the morning, asking for his will for my day and the power to carry that out, and then continually praying throughout the day, then everything works out the way it is supposed to. We are told to “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). So if we listen carefully to what God is saying by seeking him first, then he will speak peace to those who are faithful in doing that. But I am probably not counted as “faithful” in doing it just once. It will most likely take time to find the peace of God in my life as I continue to be faithful.
On one other note, today’s verse mentions “listening” to what God is saying. Do you know how to listen to God? Do you practice silence so that you can hear him? Are you a student of the Word? When he puts something on your heart, do you obey? Or do you make excuses? (Again, I find journaling to be a very valuable tool for listening to God.)
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How comfortable are you with being silent before the Lord?
How do you listen to God?
Has he asked you to do something that you haven’t done yet? What excuses do you make for not making God a priority each day?
Ask for his mercy and strength to listen and obey today.