Weekday Devotionals

Devotional by Raquel Simmons

Verse: Joshua 1:8 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

Thoughts: The words continually, and day and night stick out to me in this verse. They both make think of the word devotion. If you are continually doing something day in and day out, I would consider that you are very devoted to that “something.” Devotion is not something that you do just every now and then or only when you feel like it. An example that comes to mind is marriage. When someone is devoted to their spouse, they don’t place unrealistic expectations on them, because they love them simply for who they are, not what they do. A devoted spouse is honest, authentic, and pure in their marriage, there is no deceit. They pursue one another continually in their time and intentionality in caring for their relationship. They do this continually day after day, month after month, and year after year. They are devoted to each other.

You will not have a healthy marriage if you place unrealistic expectations on your spouse, if you are only honest with them every now and then, nor if you only invest time in your relationship when it’s convenient for you or when you “feel like it.” The same is true in our relationship with God.

Jesus said to them (us), “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35. We are to come to Him, the bread of life, continually, and meditate on His word and what He has done for us day and night. Only then, can we experience what it really means to have a deep, meaningful, and devoted relationship with Him. Because how can you be devoted to someone that you don’t spend time with? How could you get to know the character and heart of someone without putting in the time of listening to them and getting to know them?

Pastor Daniel said, “You cannot eat one meal a week and expect to be full the rest of the week.” We cannot go to church on Sunday for an hour and expect to stay spiritually full the other 6 days of the week. Coming to church is a wonderful tool to help us grow, but the deep, devoted, intimacy we crave with God will develop when we are continually intentional.

How do we live out this devoted life to God? Every day, despite the chaos around us, we choose to live surrendered and come to Him without expectations. We remain ready to receive whatever His plan is for that day and trust it wholeheartedly. We come with clean hands, honest and authentic, ready for Him to examine our hearts and be transformed. We don’t rush our time with Him just to “get it over with,” we stay awhile and listen. We do all of this, one day at a time, week after week, month after month, year after year, and enjoy the ride this side of Heaven.

Application: Think about what your first step or another step can be in growing your devotion in your relationship with God. One thing that has helped me tremendously is the One Year Bible group with Thrive on the YouVersion Holy Bible App. This is a wonderful tool that has helped me stay focused on reading the Bible every day, and the weekly Podcasts and OYB small groups take it a step further.

Check it out if you are not a part of it already! https://www.wearethrive.org/oyb

-Raquel Simmons

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