Week 2 Day 2 Devotional
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Reflect:
What do you hope for? We hope for certain kinds of weather, health, election outcomes, sports scores. These hopes are normal and part of being human. But what do you ultimately hope for? What is the one hope that supersedes all other hopes? Do you know? Do you give it consistent thought? Do you talk much about it to others? What we hope for shapes who we are. Because we live out of our hopes, we could, if we were attentive enough, be able to tell what a person is hoping for by listening to their words and watching their actions. What do you hope for? Is it enough to hold through this life and beyond? We can be sure of what we hope for as long as our hope is well-placed. When our hopes are misplaced, then our confidence will be misguided, or more likely we will consistently live with insecurity rather than confidence. Hope for health, hope for good weather on a day off, hope for a raise, hope for any number of normal things. But above all else guard your heart, and make sure your ultimate hope—the one hope that keeps all other hopes tethered to what is real—is in the gospel. Hope for eternal life. Hope for peace with God. Hope that you will be accepted into the beloved when this life is over. Hope that what you do, when done for Christ, will matter forever. Hope that he will never leave you or forsake. Think about, talk about, and live out of the gospel hope. This is hope of which you can be sure. Close the gap on your faith today…think about and talk about your ultimate hope.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.