Daily Devotional for February 26, 2015

Jeremiah 9:23-24
The Lord says:

Don’t brag about your wisdom
    or strength or wealth.
If you feel you must brag,
    then have enough sense
to brag about worshiping me,
    the Lord.
What I like best
    is showing kindness,
justice, and mercy
    to everyone on earth.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

On the rare occasion that I am sick and need a doctor, I don’t mind seeing his/her diplomas hanging on the wall.  It doesn’t bother me to know what schools this person attended – or that they belong to an honor society or even a fraternity or sorority.  But what I really want to know is whether this person knows what he/she is doing with regard to my health.  So I ask questions…I “shop around” and ask others what their experience was like with this physician.  I listen in the clinic and the ER to the chatter of nurses and other staff and note when they readily volunteer, “He/she is good!  You will be well cared for"...and I note when the references are NOT so glowing!

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me what color or gender a doctor is…his/her country of origin…and most certainly his/her sexual orientation, economic level, or political preferences.  All I care about are:  1) is he/she knowledgeable about medicine and how to treat my condition, and 2) whether this care can  be administered with kindness, concern, and a decent bedside manner!

And so it is for us in our fellowship with God. He wants us to have a profound knowledge of Him and His word - and such an intimate relationship and communion with His Holy Spirit - that we exude confidence, hope and courage in our daily living.  He wants us to operate with a good “bedside manner” toward others.  God wants us to dispense kindness, justice and mercy to everyone…just as He gives these things to us.  When we demonstrate these things rather than bravado or our own narcissism, God draws nearer to us…and we feel His presence and peace.

When you boil it all down, nothing in life is all about us.  We are merely God’s vehicles to deliver love, grace, mercy, kindness, wisdom, forgiveness and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to others.  When we get caught up in how wonderful we are or what we have accomplished, we essentially shove God into a closet and press against the door...and nobody benefits.  Will this be the day that you open that door and usher God to the forefront?  Will this be the day that you start to consider the other guy more than yourself…and in doing so, truly feel God’s presence?  Don’t you think it should be?

   
©2015 Debbie Robus

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