Morning Devotion
February 3, 2025
Today's Bible Verse
Proverbs 3:24
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Today's Bible Study
This morning's verse is in a section that describes what happens when we walk in wisdom. When we live honoring the Lord, we will not be troubled by our conscience at night; instead, we will be able to rest well. We will also know that even when we are most vulnerable asleep the Lord will protect us. Today, we'll look at how we can apply the wisdom of this verse to our lives beginning tonight when we sleep!
We have to walk in the wisdom of the Lord to rest well at night. Most of us probably know what it's like to be unable to rest because we're troubled by something that was said or done. Regret and frustration keep us awake into the wee hours of the night, when we should be sleeping.
Walking in wisdom does not mean we're perfect, however. Only Jesus was perfect! It means that we strive to be holy in every aspect of our lives. When we fail, we turn to the Lord in repentance, ask for forgiveness, make it right as much as possible with the people we wronged, and, finally, we can sleep trusting in the grace of the Lord. We can be assured that our sin was paid for after we repent. We do not need to dwell on it any longer.
We have to walk in the wisdom of the Lord to rest well at night. Most of us probably know what it's like to be unable to rest because we're troubled by something that was said or done. Regret and frustration keep us awake into the wee hours of the night, when we should be sleeping.
Walking in wisdom does not mean we're perfect, however. Only Jesus was perfect! It means that we strive to be holy in every aspect of our lives. When we fail, we turn to the Lord in repentance, ask for forgiveness, make it right as much as possible with the people we wronged, and, finally, we can sleep trusting in the grace of the Lord. We can be assured that our sin was paid for after we repent. We do not need to dwell on it any longer.
We can also trust that the Lord will protect us as we sleep. Sleeping, especially in the time Proverbs was written (long before electronic security systems and 911!), was when people were most vulnerable because they were unable to protect themselves. Yet this proverb tells them and us today not to be afraid while sleeping. God never sleeps, and we can trust that His plans for our lives will be accomplished even as we rest.
Today's proverb reminds us that the Lord cares about our sleep. We should walk in wisdom during the day, honoring Him with our thoughts and actions. At night, we can rest trusting in His cover. Indeed, Jesus wants us to rest. Even God rested on the seventh day of creation! Tonight, if you have trouble sleeping, remember this verse and lean into these truths.
Today's proverb reminds us that the Lord cares about our sleep. We should walk in wisdom during the day, honoring Him with our thoughts and actions. At night, we can rest trusting in His cover. Indeed, Jesus wants us to rest. Even God rested on the seventh day of creation! Tonight, if you have trouble sleeping, remember this verse and lean into these truths.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you so much that you care about my rest. You don't want me to wake up in the morning feeling weary from lack of sleep. Help me to have a sound mind when I lay my head down. I want to walk in wisdom during the day and to know that you are faithful to me at night. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.
-Elbert Hubbard
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.
-C.S. Lewis
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
-Dorothy Parker
Yesterday's Devotional
February 2, 2025
Yesterday's Bible Verse
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Yesterday's Bible Study
On the night that Jesus is arrested, He speaks to the disciples one last time. He says that He will give them peace and that they do not need to be afraid or troubled by His coming absence.
Try to put yourself in the disciples' shoes for a minute. Their leader, whom they had followed for three years and given up everything for, was about to leave them. Jesus was about to leave the people who had become His friends and whom He loved deeply. He knows that when He leaves, He won't give them money or anything like that as a sort of inheritance or goodbye gift. He gives them something far more valuable: peace.
Jesus knows that His gift is very different from what the world offers: "not as the world giveth, give I unto you." The world offers us things—money, a house, an inheritance, fame, or a legacy and each of them only lasts for a little while. Eventually the world, and all that it can give us, will be gone. Jesus, who is not of the world, gives His disciples peace for all of eternity. This peace will last beyond their lifetimes, spanning throughout all of time, untouched by the world.
Try to put yourself in the disciples' shoes for a minute. Their leader, whom they had followed for three years and given up everything for, was about to leave them. Jesus was about to leave the people who had become His friends and whom He loved deeply. He knows that when He leaves, He won't give them money or anything like that as a sort of inheritance or goodbye gift. He gives them something far more valuable: peace.
Jesus knows that His gift is very different from what the world offers: "not as the world giveth, give I unto you." The world offers us things—money, a house, an inheritance, fame, or a legacy and each of them only lasts for a little while. Eventually the world, and all that it can give us, will be gone. Jesus, who is not of the world, gives His disciples peace for all of eternity. This peace will last beyond their lifetimes, spanning throughout all of time, untouched by the world.
Because of this peace, they do not need to be afraid. When Jesus says that to them, He is repeating His words from the beginning of the 14th chapter of John, which starts with the phrase, "Let not your hearts be troubled." Jesus spent the chapter explaining why His disciples should not be troubled, and He ended with the greatest reason of all: His gift to them of peace, the opposite of fear.
Do you live in peace today? There can be moments of our lives when we get caught up in things—something went wrong, something didn't work right, something is taking too long, something wasn't fair—and in those moments we can easily forget that we are compromising on the peace that Jesus has given us as followers of Him. Whenever that happens, we can practice turning our thoughts back to Him, remembering to live in His eternal promises today.
Do you live in peace today? There can be moments of our lives when we get caught up in things—something went wrong, something didn't work right, something is taking too long, something wasn't fair—and in those moments we can easily forget that we are compromising on the peace that Jesus has given us as followers of Him. Whenever that happens, we can practice turning our thoughts back to Him, remembering to live in His eternal promises today.
Yesterday's Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you for offering me peace. It isn't like anything in the world, and I'm so grateful that you have given it to me. Help me to notice when I am not living in the peace that you have given me, and help me return to it quickly when my mind wanders. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.