Daily Devotional for Friday 25th October
Trust in God
Have you ever had a time when you had to wait for something? Maybe you’ve been to Drayton Manor and the queues are 2 hours long for a ride or you are on your way to Wales for a long weekend and the traffic is 3 hours longer than usual. Waiting can sometimes be hard and causes us to be frustrated. Peter in this passage is talking to persecuted Christians and asks them to humble themselves to God's will. They would have been living in fear and anxiety from being persecuted and Peter says “cast all your anxiety on him”. This sounds lovely in words, but in practice it can be really hard and challenging to trust in God.
Trusting doesn’t happen overnight. I wouldn’t trust a stranger to watch over my bike in town but I would a friend who I’ve known for years. Trust is something we work on and test. How do I know my friend wouldn’t run away with my bike? Because I know him and I know his heart. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he gave it back and said “Hey here’s your bike. I pumped up your tires and sorted out the brakes for you”. This is the kind of trust Peter wants us to have in Jesus. Not only does he want us to trust God, but he wants us to believe God will go the extra mile for us. Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-26, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than them?”.
Peter goes on to say “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a lion hunt before, but they wait for a moment and coil their bodies so they can pounce when the prey loses its focus for a split second. Peter wants us to be “alert and of a sober mind”. Why? It’s really easy to let our guard down. We can often fall into traps like, “It’s ok, it’s just one sex scene on Netflix” “It’s fine, it’s just one drink” or “I’m too tired or upset to read my bible today”. I personally struggle with my phone. It’s so easy to lock myself away from the world and let social media control how to shape my mind. It’s why Paul wants us to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) so we can control how our mind is being formed. The devil wants us to be distracted so he can pounce. He has 3 goals, steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) but God wants us to have life, and life to the full! God wants us to lean into Him for guidance because only then can we fully experience a complete and fulfilled life.
Time to reflect…
What are we doing daily to help stay alert and of sober mind against the devil's schemes? Where do you struggle with this at the moment?
Pause to pray…
Father God, you know me better than I know myself. Help me stay alert and of a sober mind so I can avoid the devil's schemes. Help me be patient when times are hard and lean into your ways rather than my own. Help me to stay close to you and put good people around me to keep me accountable. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Please note…. Since the first COVID lockdown, a fantastic team has written daily devotionals Monday through Friday, which are available on our website, social media, and through a printed version. We have made the difficult decision at the end of October to pause them for a season to be reviewed in January. If you find these useful, we would love to hear from you. Please email the office (office@stjw.org.uk) so we can measure how well they are being used. A book of daily devotionals will be available for Advent, which connects to our Advent theme. In the meantime, can we recommend the App Lectio 365 App (https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/)
