December 22nd, 2022
by Sarah Turner
by Sarah Turner
Thursday, December 22
“Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever!”
That’s what those who are redeemed by the Lord say,
the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
the ones God gathered from various countries,
from east and west, north and south.
Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
They couldn’t find their way to a city or town.
They were hungry and thirsty;
their lives were slipping away.
So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
God led them straight to human habitation.
Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people,
because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst,
and he filled up the hungry with good things!
- Psalm 107:1-9
Reflection:
Our society loves to share our lives with others, especially in the age of social media. Conveniently, everything gets to pass through our inner filters before it is shared with the world. Perhaps it is the perfect family photo. But most wouldn’t disclose that before that impeccable shot, maybe the teen was busted at a party the night before and is reaping the consequences, a family feud broke out, and to top it off, little Timmy might have had an accident in his pants minutes before (which is forever secretly captured in discreet photo evidence). We have become experts at recreating our lives through posts, which makes it incredibly difficult to break through our walls and be real with our peers. It is easy to act like we all have it together to an outsider, and it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that what you see about someone else’s life (or rather, don’t) makes you a complete failure in reality. But, we all screw up and have parts of our lives that we aren’t proud of. If we ask and obey, God will help us to pick up the pieces. He will lead us back to where we can thrive. In obedience, it is also our job as followers to proclaim what He has done for us, and to spread His truth. We have a chance to tell others about God’s work in our lives - by word of mouth or by social media. I challenge you to share your true story with someone, especially someone who does not know God.
Prayer:
God, thank you for the work you have done in my life. Though I find vulnerability difficult, I want to share all of the wonderful ways I have felt your love and guidance, as well as your promise. I pray that I can swallow my pride and use my story to fearlessly lead others to you. Please use me as conduit to spread your message of hope and redemption to the family and friends that you have blessed me with.
Amen.
Written by Steph Beatty
Posted in Advent Devotional
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