Day 37 – The Devil Is In The Details
Read
Reflect
I’m a very logical guy.
I love understanding how things work, how to take things apart, how to put them back together. I love learning new things, and most things I set my mind to I can figure out.
After I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour, I remember very clearly the first spiritual roadblock I hit. I was approaching my walk with God the same way I approached a new skill or hobby.
I was trying to learn every little detail.
And learn I did. In fact, I learned an incredible amount about God and the bible in that season. However, something began to frustrate me. I kept running into details and nuances in the bible that I didn’t understand. Things that seemed too unclear, or even at times contradictory.
I began to get frustrated, and I felt like I was stalling out. I just couldn’t wrap my head around certain things that the bible said, and it was starting to interfere with my relationship with God.
I remember the day I broke through the wall. I was reading Psalm 18, one of my favourite passages of scripture:
He led me to a place of safety,
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
When I read that passage I realized something. Those details didn’t matter. Not only that, but by spending so much time trying to “get” it, I was actually moving further from God instead of closer to him. That truth, once revealed, was was so freeing.
God loved me. He rescued me. He delighted in me.
None of which depended on my understanding. In fact, I believe it’s made more beautiful by the fact that there are things I realize I will never understand.
Respond
Belong – Because you can belong before you believe.
Are you feeling like certain things the bible says prevent you from considering a relationship with Christ? If he has an unfailing love that he wants you to accept, how important are those details, really?
Believe – Because those who belong often start to believe.
Is today the day you put aside your hesitations and make the choice to enter into a relationship with Christ? Pray that God may help you see what is truly important.
Become – Because everyone who believes can become someone new.
The bible is incredibly clear that God has a relentless passion and love for us. How can you show that to those around you?
Dear God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
– by Justin Piercy