God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.
Lamentations 3:22–24 MSG
So many things try to snatch our attention away from the Lord. They could be worthwhile or necessary or just fun, but if they aren’t what God wants us to focus on, we need to ignore them and concentrate on Him. Sometimes even ministry can drain our energy so we are too exhausted to spend time with Jesus. We may not even realize we’re slipping away.
Then we find ourselves just going through the motions of worship. Our friends still see us as faithful followers of the Lord, but it’s as though we’re wearing a disguise. We put on a mask to look like something we’re not, when in reality, our love has dried up. And what’s worse, we may not even realize what has happened. The joy seeps away. There’s no enthusiasm or satisfaction in the work, but we fight to maintain our image.
Or, the opposite extreme could be that we are so full of energy to accomplish our goals, we don’t even miss the former sweet fellowship we had with Jesus. Distractions can blind us to what we’ve abandoned.
Whatever it is, if anything has taken the place of an intimate relationship with our Creator, it puts our spiritual lives in jeopardy. Don’t masquerade. Be real. The Lord isn’t fooled.
Holy Jesus, I praise You for the loyal, merciful love You faithfully pour into Your children to keep us close. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Ardythe Kolb.