Day 106: Reclaim What Matters

Today’s Reading:
Luke 14–16, Psalm 96, Proverbs 15

Today’s Scripture: Luke 15:13 (NIV)
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”

Devotional:

If you are like me then there have been moments in your life where you start scrolling through social media and suddenly you find yourself in a time warp. Hours, not just minutes, have flown by and you have nothing to show for it other than the discovery that your personality is like a red unicorn. We have all wasted our time and not used it in the most productive manner.

In today’s reading, we witness the prodigal son squandering not just his time, but his wealth as well on wild living!! When he ran out of resources, he didn’t have a lot to show for his choices when he landed in the pig’s pen. Now, before we judge this son on his poor money management, stop and ask yourself: how have you wasted money when it could have been utilized in a more productive way? How have you wasted your time when you could have been going about God’s business? It is easy to point fingers and judge. It is much more difficult to self-evaluate.

The enemy wants to keep us busy and distracted so we don’t live out our complete and full God-intended purpose. In today’s society, staying busy and distracted is extremely easy to do. However, God wants us to turn to him and be disciplined with our time and our resources. In Proverbs 15:31 it states, “He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.”

Understand that God has a purpose for you that is above and beyond all we can ever hope of, dream of, or imagine. Spend time with God through prayer and Bible study and find out what God’s goal for your life is and spend your time pursuing His purpose. I promise you, you will find your true identity and feel much more fulfilled.

Reflection Questions:
1. Make a list of things that are priorities to you. Then make a list of how you spend your time and resources. Do these lists match?
2. If the lists do not match, what needs to change in how you spend your time and resources?
3. Ask God how he wants you to spend your time today and allow God to order your day. What would happen if you asked God first?

Prayer:
Father, thank you so much for the precious time we have here on Earth. As the Psalmist says, “We will sing to the Lord a new song!” We lift-up and praise your Holy name. You are worthy of being praised and glorified. Jesus, help us to order our steps. Help us to not squander the time we have on Earth, but to do what you have placed in our hearts to do. In Jesus name and by your blood, rebuke the enemy that is trying to keep me busy and distracted. Please remove this enemy from my life and replace it with the discipline to follow your voice and the purpose you have set before me. Help me to be faithful in a little so I can be faithful in much. Thank you, Lord, for your mercies!

In Jesus’ holy and precious name, I pray—Amen.

Digging Deeper

No one wants to feel like they are being judged. If you stop and think about other people’s judgments, you have to ask: what standards are they basing their judgements on? Do you even agree with their standards? Are they even credentialed and educated enough to know and understand your life to be able to make an accurate judgement? Have they taken into account and consideration your past, present, and future? What you have done and where you are going?

The more questions I ask, the more you realize that only God can be the judge of our lives. In Psalms 96:13 it says, “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.” There will be a day where we stand before the King of Kings to give an account of how we lived our life on this Earth. I am very thankful that God already shared his standard, which is in righteousness and in his truth. God’s justice will be full of mercy and grace. Maybe, just maybe, that is why God tells us not to judge others. We do not judge with the accuracy of righteousness and truth.