Daily Reading: Luke 11
Scripture Focus: Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything. (Luke 11.7)
Devotional Thought: Have you ever gotten a phone call in the middle of the night? Or more startling, a knock on your door? You did not want to get up out of bed, did you? The homes in Jesus’ day were quite small. Often, just one room. The living room and the bedroom were the same. And, everybody had the same bed. When the parents finally got all the kids to bed, they didn’t want anything disturbing them. Especially some pesky neighbor who just needed a loaf of bread! “Go away! Can’t you see I’m in bed?”
God is a different kind of neighbor. We can cry out to him anytime, day or night. He is always awake. The Bible says, “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night” (Psalm 121.3-6).
When I am counseling couples, I can get a sense of the health of their relationship by observing what they do for one another. Do they do small things to serve each other? In premarital counseling, I like to ask husbands something like this: “You say you would take a bullet for your wife, but would you do the dishes for her?” If a marriage is to be happy and healthy, then couples need to be watching for ways to serve one another.
God enjoys helping us with the small things of life as well as the big things. So, don’t hesitate to call upon your heavenly Father. Day or night. Major or mundane. He is ready to help you.
Prayer: Father, I am so glad that I have never heard you say, "Don't bother me." Thank you that your door is never shut. In the name of your Child, who invites us to become his child. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 138.1-8
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. 3 On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth, 5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. 6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. 8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Comments