Verse:Hebrews 12:12-13 ESV
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Devotion
I think these verses are great for the beginning of the year. How many of us set New Year’s Resolutions? We take the time to reflect on the last year and change something for the better in the year to come. How many of us throw in the towel? The want for growth is often not enough for us to meet our goals. Lack of instant gratification, scheduling, life- things get in the way of achieving our goals. By February 1st, we are the same person we always were. I think sometimes this mentality can creep into our spiritual lives.
I read these verses as a warning and an encouragement to not grow weary. The author is telling us the race is going to be hard and we need to be prepared.
The race we are called to participate in as Christians takes a greater investment than the decision we make to change at the beginning of a new year. It isn’t a flippant decision to change a behavior; it is an investment to become more like Christ. A decision to work towards healing and growth and to walk(run!) in grace. We must welcome the discipline this challenge demands.
Unlike a new year’s resolution our growth doesn’t have an end. Becoming more like Christ will never be complete in this lifetime. There are always more ways to grow and more to give God: time, relationships, future.
The race is a marathon and we must prepare our hearts for hard work ahead.
Prayer:
Give me stillness to see the areas I need to grow and strengthen my weary heart to make meaningful change.
Author: Maggie McAndrews
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