Encouragement for Today - Jan. 7, 2008
January 7, 2008
Stay on God’s Path
“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11(NIV)
Devotion: God’s Word tells us that He will guide us along the path of life, but it’s our choice to stay on the path or not. We could have been following God for some time only to find we’ve gotten off God’s path somehow.
Many things can cause us to wander from God’s path. Maybe we’ve been tempted and we’ve chosen to sin rather than resist temptation. Perhaps we’ve been worn down by life’s hardships and we’ve let bitterness take root rather than believing God will see us through the hard times. Or maybe we’ve been hurt and feel we just can’t forgive anymore. The grass has started to look greener on the other side.
In Luke 15, we read the story about a father whose son chooses to leave the path the father has planned for him. The father has hopeful dreams and good plans for his son, but his son has other ideas and wants to plan his own life. So, this wise father lets his son leave. It’s not what the father wants and it grieves him to allow this, but the father also knows that he can’t force his son to choose his plans. He knows his son will have to make his own decision about accepting his father’s dreams for him.
Whenever I read this story of the prodigal son, I imagine the father standing in front of his home, looking down the road and wondering where his son is and what he's doing. I imagine that his heart literally aches with longing for his son.
Then one night the father’s heart leaps, for a long way off he sees a figure approaching. His son has returned! He can't run fast enough to meet and to embrace his son.
This is the story of our heavenly Father and how He loves each of us. There’s nowhere we can go that His loving arms cannot reach us and rescue us with His love.
Wherever we've wandered, even if only in our thoughts and hearts, the Father longs for us to return. He's always ready to embrace us with open arms and a heart bursting with love. He has good plans for our lives that can be trusted.
Dear Lord, I choose to rest today in the security and certainty of Your love. Lord, You know what’s keeping me from giving You my whole heart today. Take that burden from me and replace it with the comfort of Your love. Help me to return to You. Hold my hand as I walk on Your path of life. I choose today to trust in Your unfailing love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood
i am not, but I know I AM, by Louie Giglio
Application Steps:
Read this personalized verse from Zephaniah 3:1, “The Lord my God is with me, he is mighty to save me. He takes great delight in me, he quiets me with his love, he rejoices over me with singing.” Take some time to meditate on this and let it sink into your heart.
Reflections:
Do you need to return to God’s path? Will you pray today’s prayer and return to God, knowing He welcomes you with open arms and a heart bursting with love?
Read below Romans 8:38-39. Do you believe that right now nothing – no thing – separates you from God’s love?
Power Verses:
2 Thessalonians 3:4, “… May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God's love and Christ's endurance.” (MSG)
Psalm 16:11, “Now you've got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I'm on the right way.” (MSG)
Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)
Proverbs 31 Ministries
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