November 17

Ezekiel 35:1-36:38, James 1:1-18, Psalm 116:1-19, Proverbs 27:23-27

Pray: Lord, how often I have prayed, “Let me be all that I can be in Christ?” Help me to understand that trials and testing are the very events that allow me to grow into a man or woman of God. Change the way I think about them. Help me to see them as opportunities to grow. May I look into my bathroom mirror when my whole world is coming apart and smile!

Read: James, Jesus’s brother, tells us that we can ask God for wisdom. God will not refuse to give spiritual understanding of His will and His ways to us. But James also cautions us at the same time, “But when you ask Him, be sure your faith is in God alone.” When the scriptures jump off the pages of our Bibles we know God is speaking to us. Sometimes from the pulpit we hear a message and the Spirit of God within us witnesses that the word preached is for us. All of this is God answering our heart’s cry for wisdom. But we must obey and hold on to what He says lest we receive nothing. We cannot look to both God and to the world and think we will receive anything. The fruit of doing so is that we receive nothing, nada, zero!

Edify: Have you ever prayed for trials to come into your life? I can assure you whether you pray for them to come or pray for them not to come…they are coming! My point is simply this. Trials are a good thing. Refuse to think of them as bad things. Trials are opportunities. Don’t treat them like a curse. Embrace them as a blessing!

Practice: Keep a journal. When you ask God to speak to you, He will. Write down your question. Over time write down what He says to you. His wisdom may come from your daily devotion, it may come from a sermon at church, it may come from a trusted friend, or God may speak to your heart directly. But know this. You are accountable!

Our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit depends on our obedience to the Holy Spirit. Will we always get things right? No! But it is far better to try and fail than to turn to the world for answers. God will never rebuke you for trying to obey. A righteous man or woman can fall repeatedly but the scriptures say he or she will rise over and over again.