Jan 20, 2026 – Illuminate
[This is a page, from an old issue of Oprah Winfrey’s “O magazine” (not sure of the month or year), that I framed and have had hanging in my bathroom for many years.]
Motivation, for me, was lacking today. I don’t think I was stuck in place because of the kids’ baking competition that I was watching, but it could be that. I shouldn’t have turned on the TV when I got home from an early morning physical therapy session, but I was hungry (because of having to leave so early and not eating). If I don’t have someone to talk with while eating at home (or people to watch when eating out), I like to watch something on TV or online. Reading is an ok option, but it can take a little juggling.
Why did those kid-creations distract me? Leftover kid-concentration from yesterday? Sugar craving? I was actually craving a nap, but there’s so much to do. I’m pretty good about taking time for myself to rest and do the things that nurture my soul; or at least I think I am. Physical therapy, though, has taught me that I could’ve been taking better care of myself physically through the years. The “use it or lose it” mantra is not only true; it’s vital to how well we age.
I don’t get worn out, like I was feeling earlier today, very much unless I’ve pushed through a project (like working on our rental house over the weekend), but that is usually recoverable with rest. I think the kind of exhaustion I was experiencing, and listless staring I was doing, results when something unexpected (like caring for grandchildren) arises on the heels of other exertions. I’ve gladly allowed every activity and distraction in my life these past few days – perhaps even longer – but I’ve neglected the day of rest that God models for us in Genesis 2: 2-3 and the importance of rest that He tells us about in other verses throughout the Bible.
JC – “As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrates the events of your life…. be on the lookout for Me! I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected…. Don’t try to figure out what is happening. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all.” See Isaiah 55:9-11 and Jeremiah 29:11.
Utmost is entitled, “Are You Fresh for Everything?” Indeed I wasn’t, at least not when I got home from PT as I searched for inspiration for the blog. Am I supposed to have a topic everyday or just wait for inspiration from God? I’ve done both. Is one way more “correct” than the other? Am I even supposed to be taking all this time each day to write? I think I answered that question a while back. It’s fairly normal to doubt our choices at times, but I don’t want to wonder too long and forget what I’ve learned, which I believe was to seek God about things and keep doing what I’m doing until He makes it clear that I should change course. Chambers writes, “Sometimes we are fresh for a prayer meeting but not fresh for cleaning boots!” Umm, I think I get that, but I’d like a little more please.
Chambers continues, “Being born again from above (RV mg) is a perennial, perpetual and eternal beginning, a freshness all the time in thinking and in talking and in living, the continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication of something out of joint with God – ‘I must do this or it will never be done.’ That is the first sign of staleness…. Freshness does not come from obedience but from the Holy Spirit, obedience keeps us in the light as God is in the light.” I’m not so sure that helped as much as I thought it would, but maybe it means I’ve strayed from the purpose of the blog. “Guard jealously your relationship to God…. Keep all the life perennially open to Jesus Christ, don’t pretend with Him. Are you drawing your life from any other source than God Himself? If you are depending upon anything but Him, you will never know when He is gone.” Gulp.
When I started this blog endeavor, it was simply to share the daily devotions I was reading because they had morphed into a small group for me and their offerings, based on Scripture, were very helpful in shaping my thinking and my faith and in answering questions I’d posed to God in my journal. I wanted others to see how God was speaking to me so they could seek their own way of speaking with and hearing from God. Early on, as I watched the blogs add up and just saw a bunch of words, I really wanted to figure out how to add photos for interest (that I didn’t have to get rights to or pay for). Perhaps they do add some color to the pages, but have they (and the personal stories) distracted me from the purpose of spending time with God each morning? I’m asking, not doubting; they’re different, aren’t they?
Power – Proverbs 3:6 – “In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” Joyce seems to have heard my questions and offers, “It is so easy to start making a plan instead of waiting on God to give us His plan.” But how long do we wait without feeling like we are wasting our time, and His? She continues, “Having a plan is not a bad thing, but we can simply say to God each day, ‘Lord, I have a plan for today, but I acknowledge You in it. And if You don’t approve of any part of it, then I am willing to change and do what you want.’ If you truly care about what God desires, He will direct you in the way you should go if any changes need to be made to your plans.” Thank you, Joyce. I pretty much do that each morning or at least that’s my intention. What I’d like now, God, is to stop questioning (is that the same as doubting) and to really hear Your voice and know that I’m following Your lead (whether that involves moving forward or waiting in place).
Max bases today’s thoughts on John 6:19 when the disciples “saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.” Max suggests that we “climb in the boat with the disciples…. Look at their rain-splattered faces. What do you see? Fear, for sure. Doubt? Absolutely. You may even hear a question shouted over the wind. ‘Anyone know where Jesus is?’ The answer is clear and surprising: praying. Then Jesus became the answer to his own prayer.” It’s comforting to me for Max to point out that, “The followers panicked…. [and that] Peter’s faith became fear…. but Jesus was not distracted from his mission. He stayed on course until his point was made: he is sovereign over all storms. [and questions and doubts] The disciples, for the first time in Scripture, worshipped him. ‘Truly you are the Son of God’ (Matthew 14:33)…. May you and I do the same.”
JA – Young continues comforting me in God’s voice, “You cooperate with Him by saturating your mind with Scripture and asking Him to illuminate it to you…. The more you see things from My perspective, the more accurately you view your life. You need not only to know biblical truth but to tell yourself the truth over and over each day. The world continually assaults your mind with lies and deceptions, so you must be diligent to recognize falsehood, dispel it, and replace it with biblical teaching.”
What I like about these devotions is that they have “illuminated” the Scriptures for me. They aren’t telling me what to think and understand; they are teaching me that I want to think and understand more for myself. I like hearing their perspectives, like I do when I’m with my in-person small group, but I definitely need to learn more how to take time to “study” scripture on my own. I’m always amazed when preachers talk about taking extended time with a single verse or passage of Scripture. I get too distracted (sounds like an excuse I need to overcome) to do much more than read a verse(s) and maybe look up some commentary about it, which means I Google. Maybe a good start, for me, in studying the Word, would be to get a good commentary, but would that be the same as letting my devotion book friends explain verses to me? This is getting too circuitous, and long. Perhaps these ponderings exemplify why we/I need rest (and why our bodies need nourishment from food before continuing on – see 1 Kings 19). Let’s see if anyone else wants to contribute before we close.
Prevail #20 – Ahhhhhhh, with today’s title, “Rest as a Gift,” Larson has taken us back to where we started and bases her devotion on Leviticus 19:30: “Keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the Lord.” Larson offers, “Messages often get lost in translation when we misunderstand or don’t fully know the messenger. Yes, the call to honor the Sabbath was a law, but God instituted it as a gift to a people who possessed very real limits, [perhaps like modern day people?] people who needed regular reminders that the world was not on their shoulders.” Remember Lyn, this blog is not on your shoulders. Larson points out that the religious zealots used this Sabbath law “to parade their ‘holiness’ for all to see, and to absolve themselves from helping someone in need because their religion forbade it. Then Jesus came. He offered rest to the weary…. He restored the Sabbath to its rightful place. We still need the Sabbath. Our hearts need mending, our souls need healing, and our bodies need rest.” And I love what she shares next, “Even more so, we need regular reminders that God carries the weight of the world, so we don’t have to. God created us for fellowship with Him…. Ask the Lord how He’d like you to institute a true Sabbath in your life…. Forgive me for so often refusing Your gift of rest because of my own earthbound mindset…. I’m following You, Lord. Amen.”
I was going to end with Amen, but Streams reminds me of something my physical therapist said today about posture. He said ages ago he used push good posture as a primary part of therapy, but he realized that posture is often related to emotions and sometimes cannot be dictated or easily corrected and perhaps even shouldn’t be at times.
Cowman bases today’s devotion on Ecclesiastes 7:3 – “Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart”; [have you seen the movie “Inside Out“?] and, she takes some thoughts from The Heavenly Life: “Sorrow, under the power of divine grace, performs various ministries in our lives. Sorrow reveals unknown depths of the soul, and unknown capacities for suffering and service. Lighthearted, frivolous people are always shallow and are never aware of their own meagerness or lack of depth. [pretty strong there with always and never] Sorrow is God’s tool to plow the depths of the soul, that it may yield richer harvests…. it is sorrow that causes us to take the time to think deeply and seriously. Sorrow makes us move more slowly and considerately and examine our motives and attitudes…. God never uses anyone to a great degree until He breaks the person completely. Joseph experienced more sorrow than the other sons of Jacob, and it led him to a ministry of food for all the nations. For this reason, the Holy Spirit said of him, ‘Joseph is a fruitful vine…. (Gen 49:22).
Cowman helps us concludes as she shares from Henry Clay Trumbull, “Every person and every nation must endure lessons in God’s school of adversity.” It’s interesting that he included nations. That’s comforting to hear actually, because it reminds us that the situations we and our nations face do not surprise God. He will work all things out in His way and in His time. Trumbull tells of a poor, brokenhearted man whose home and mill were washed away in a flood, “Yet after the waters had subsided, he saw something shining in the riverbanks that the flood had washed bare. ‘It looks like gold,’ he said. And it was gold. The storm that had impoverished him made him rich. So it is oftentimes in life.” I do feel that way about where I find myself in my life…very blessed.
