Friday, March 9, 2012

Only

Scripture Verses that Caught My Attention today: Deuteronomy 10:12-13 So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being.

Observation: “Only” can be an encouraging word.

Application:
Life can be overwhelming, at times, for any of us. In those times it can be encouraging to determine what is really necessary and what are merely optional areas or activities of focus. Strange as it seems, my to-do list is starting to get shorter. This is not to say that there aren’t more things that I would like to do and that indeed should probably be done. It’s just that I’m starting to get a little more realistic in terms of what is actually possible. Rather than be discouraged by what is yet left undone, I’m starting to get encouraged by what, though God’s grace, I have been able to accomplish.

Lest you mistakenly be of the impression that I am therefore the epitome of a balanced life, let me be clear; at the moment I am pretty much spent. I’ve only been able to devote time and energy to a few things as of late and one of those things has involved an inordinate amount of time and energy.

But as we read in the Scriptures above, “only” is enough. It is enough to only acknowledge the Lordship of God, to endeavor to walk in God’s ways, love the Lord with all that we have and to see the commandments as gifts for our own well-being. Some days that’s all the time we have. Sometimes it takes all day to do it. But it’s still a mighty fine use of our time and energy, no matter what.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the opportunities to serve you and to be loved by you and to see that in you we have all that we could ever need. In Jesus’ name.

(Readings today included: Deuteronomy 10-12 and Mark 16)

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