When life feels like a hurricane brewing, lock your focus on God and rest in his peace like the eye of the storm.
Ponderings
Devotionals, prayer & insights from my Bible reading
Prayer prompt for Friday, Nov. 22
What would it look like to “fear the Lord” in your day-to-day life? Tell God your thoughts in prayer, then hush & let your spirit listen.
Prayer prompt for Thursday, Nov. 21
Some translations of Job 28:27 say that God “appraised” wisdom. He gave it value. How much do you honestly value wisdom in your own life?
Prayer prompt for Wednesday, Nov. 20
If you’ve ever had vertigo, you know how unsettling dizziness feels. Let’s keep our faith-walks from getting out of focus & dizzy, too.
Prayer prompt for Tuesday, Nov. 19
Do you have a favorite sport or activity that requires diligent practice? What if we put that same amount of effort into our faith-walk?
Prayer prompt for Monday, Nov. 18
Think about how amazing it is to peek through a telescope and get a closer view of planets & stars. Center your focus today on our Creator.
Prayer prompt for Sunday, Nov. 17
For many of us, meetings & obligations fill the majority of our day. How might we deliberately focus on God instead of just the daily grind?
Finding a Focal Point (Prayer Devotional for the week of November 17, 2013)
My favorite winter sport to watch is figure skating. (Incidentally, my favorite winter sport to participate in is Fireplace Lounging, and the uniform is flannel pajamas.) I just think it’s beautiful to see the athletes spin and jump through the air so gracefully and seemingly effortlessly. Granted, I can’t tell the difference between a salchow and a toe loop, much less determine whether a jump is a double or triple. Once they start spinning, I just see a blur of color and hold my breath hoping they don’t fall down.
I’ve been told that in skating, ballet, and other activities where spinning around and around is part of the gig, the key to not falling (or vomiting, I would imagine) is finding a focal point to concentrate on between rotations. When your eyes find a steady place of recognition, then your brain can somehow tell your body that it is not, in fact, flailing out of control. It can actually stop spinning on cue and continue the routine. (This might also explain why the childhood game of Spin-around-in-the-yard-until you-get-dizzy-and-fall-down is not an Olympic sport.)
Speaking of flying off the handle, Job was a man who knew a thing or two about getting one’s focus off-kilter. During one of his numerous lengthy speeches in the book named after him, Job talks about the origins of wisdom (Ch. 28). He poetically describes how God alone understands wisdom, because he created it (v. 23-28). Some translations say that God defined or appraised wisdom (v. 27), but I like how The Message paraphrase says that God “focused on Wisdom.”
Job wraps up that chapter by giving us a focal point: verse 28 reveals that true wisdom is the fear of the Lord. I don’t think that means cowering in a corner afraid that he’ll smite you with lightning, rather, having a healthy respect for his absolute awesomeness. If we can walk confidently through life focused and aware that God is the end-all-be-all and worthy of our utmost respect and wholehearted commitment, then it won’t matter so much that the world is spinning chaotically around us.
We’ll slip on the ice and land flat on our derrieres from time to time. There will probably be people who critique and judge us. There may be audiences that cheer us one minute and boo us the next. However, with God as our focus, we can seek his will, stay in his word, and remain grounded – come what may.
Prayer prompt for Saturday, Nov. 16
Think about the phrase: Life isn’t fair. Does walking in faith necessarily mean that life must be “fair” to you? What does “fair” look like?
Prayer prompt for Friday, Nov. 15
When you are faced with an important decision, what’s your approach? Read James 4 for a reminder to steer clear of the ways of the world.