Reclaiming the Truth
“The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” – Luke 15.12-13
Redeeming the Time
We can all probably relate to the younger son. Demanding from God what we want from Him and not realizing how much we need Him…not His stuff, just His presence. As the song says, we are, “prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love.”
The younger son is in all of us. When things aren’t like we hope they would be, our tendency is to take what we can get and run. God, in His perfect love, allows us to run. He gives us the freedom to chase after what we want and what we think will make us happy. He knows His way is better, but He doesn’t force us into it. He invites us. The invitation is always available.
Are you running from someone or some situation today? Do you hear the invitation of the Father? It is usually a quiet whisper. It requires stopping and listening. Seeking and finding.
Before you run any further, take a moment and be still before the Father. Be reminded of what He has done for you. What He has done for you is exactly what He is inviting you to do for others.
Reflection
- Is there a time when you knowingly turned away and ran from God?
- Describe a time when you realized your need for God’s presence over His gifts.
- As you are still before God and listening, what is He saying to you?
Resting in His Redemption
Rest and receive His truth in these verses of life.
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” – Psalm 16.7-11
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” – Psalm 139.7-12
