Daily Devotional

Last January our daughter, Anne, invited us to join her and her family on a trip to Hawaii. She paid for the house for us all, and arranged flights for Lynn & me to get there. We were to fly out of Fresno on January 2nd. At the same time I was saying “Yes” to the Lord to reading through the Bible in a year, using a large study Bible I owned. I would be following a reading program on the YouVersion Bible App.

I planned to start on January 1st. But the Study Bible is big and heavy and I did not want to take it on the various flights to and from Hawaii, so I decided to read ahead several day’s worth, as outlined by the Bible program. I took another small Bible to Hawaii for daily use there.

When we returned, after a very nice family trip, I resumed my “read the Bible in a year” program. And though I was on track per my own arrangements, the Bible App kept telling me my status was, “6 Missed Days.” This went on for about three months. Finally, I got tired of seeing that declaration, every day, “6 Missed Days,” even though I had not missed any!

So I doubled my reading over a period of days, tripled it once, to catch up according to the Bible App. I had been wondering what it would say once I was caught up according to their accounting. Finally, I discovered it – it said, “On Track.” What a relief!

Now, every day I see that I am “On Track.” But that declaration that had been hanging over my life everyday like a dark cloud, “6 Missed Days,” is like what Satan likes to use against us in our
Christian lives. No matter how we are doing in serving Christ, even on days we are obviously very fruitful, that night and the next morning he says to our hearts, “6 Missed Days!”

He makes us feel we are never good enough, that have not done enough, or done it well enough. So we get a permanent declaration, like heavy chain around our necks, “6 Missed Days,” morning and night!

But as we serve Christ daily with a whole heart, the Holy Spirit will give us instead this encouraging declaration, over and over, “On Track.” We do not have to live like we are always defeated, like we are always failing. Or even like with are always coming up just a little bit short. No. God’s requirements over us are like those of a wise father. He gives us what we can handle, while encouraging us to grow with challenges. He equips us with what we need. He gives us His Spirit to work in our very beings, to accomplish His will. Then we get words of encouragement from Him like, “Nice job,” or “You are doing well,” or “You are making good progress!”

The truth is, I believe, that on any given day, we can do all God’s will completely! Then we can lie down and sleep soundly (Psalm 3:5), and get up ready for another day of service to our Father. It is not Him who is loading burdens on us which are impossible to fulfill, every day, and then criticizing and blaming us for failure. Those would be the Pharisees of our day under Satan’s urging, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move then with so much as a finger.” Matthew 23:4, NASB.

Instead, the Lord Jesus speaks this love and wisdom to our hearts, Matthew 11:28–30, NASB.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
 For My yoke is [easy and My burden is light.”

Do not listen anymore to them, to the declaration of the enemy, which might at times even be some kind of church people, telling you, again, “6 Missed Days!” We have a wonderful Lord! His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!

We can do the will of God today. We can do it well. We can do it completely. We can hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” every day! Not just waiting in hope after a frustrating Christian life, that we might finally be told in heaven, “Well done.”

No, make it your determined plan to do His will every day, in faith, with energy and excellence, and with joy, the best you know how. Then listen for His voice, “On Track! Well done today!” He will speak to you every day! He is life and He is our fulfillment, every day that we walk and work on this planet!

Read: Psalm 91
Sing: Day by Day, by Carolina Sandell Berg (Oscar Ahnfelt)

"New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation"

"New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved."