Daily Devotional

God has written and is continuing to write the chapters of my life.  Each chapter has its significance and challenges.  Some of them were special times with family and ministry.  Others were difficult and caused me to run to the Lord in my troubled heart.  There were times I didn’t understand what the Lord was doing but I sensed that He wanted me to grow through the experience and become more like Christ.  I am sure you have had similar chapters in your life.
 
As God is writing the book of my life, each chapter has its own nuances but has a similar purpose.  God’s purpose is that I grow spiritually through every chapter and know Him at a deeper level.  Currently I am at some of the later chapters in the book of my life, but ultimately, I want to end the last chapter well.  To do that I have to continue walking by faith with the Lord, trusting that He knows what is best and has my best in mind.  Scripture has many examples of people whose lives were characterized by their walk of faith.  These examples are there to teach us how God wants us to live.  

Abraham was one of those examples.  He believed God’s promise that He would make him the father of a great nation.  As the years went by, he grew stronger in his faith.  He became fully convinced that God would do exactly what He promised in his life.  When we come to know Christ as our Savior, our lives are to be characterized by faith as stated in Romans 1:18, “The just shall live by faith.”  Each chapter of our lives will have opportunities to trust God and walk by faith.  Our faith will be tested in a multitude of ways.  We do not know what any day will bring, but as we live each day and face each situation, we need to take steps of faith that will move us to a new level in our walk with God.

In the story, Alice and Wonderland, the Cheshire cat had appeared numerous times in Alice’s wanderings through the rabbit tunnel.  On one occasion she had come to a Y in the road and wondered which way she should go.  She asks the Cheshire Cat the following question, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.  “I don’t much care where,” said Alice.  “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “…so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.  “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long encough.”

Many times it seems that we are wandering aimlessly through life.  We really do not know where we are going…we have no goals spiritually for our lives.  We, as Alice, just say, “as long as I get somewhere.”

Each chapter of the book of our life needs to be lived with purpose.  We will have opportunities to take steps of faith that move us to a new level in our walk with God.  Let’s make the decision that we will not aimlessly go through the events of life but that we will actually grow spiritually through the events of life.

Today God is asking us to trust Him…to step out in faith and to experience Him on a new level spiritually in our walk with Him.  As we live daily by faith, we will have a settled confidence in the Lord that He will accomplish His purposes chapter by chapter.  

Ask God what steps He wants us to take to trust Him more fully.  Allow the Lord to identify anything in our lives that is hindering our walk of faith.  When God writes that final chapter, may we finish this life well.  

Prayer:  Lord, every day has its challenges.  May I look at life and every situation that I face through eyes of faith.  I know Lord that you are always there and will help me.  I want to trust You and to grow in my walk of faith.  Draw me close to You and keep me from aimlessly wandering through life.  I want to finish life well and to continually grow in You.
Amen.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.