Together - Daily DevotionalSample

For Our Own Good

Reading: Deut.10:12-22

Key Verse: “to walk in all his ways to love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands ... for your own good.” verses 12-13

Today’s key verse explains what God requires of us. These responsibilities are not meant to be thought of in the same way as compulsory obligations towards an employer but as affectionate responses towards a lover. God’s directions are not the narcissistic demands of a dictatorial ogre who wants to control us; they are the caring instructions of a loving parent who longs to protect and enrich us. God’s decrees are not over protective limitations but life enhancing guidelines for our benefit – they are “for your own good.”

A red light may be frustrating when you are driving but it is meant to preserve your life from harm and protect the lives of others. To reject the world’s preoccupation with things and seek God’s kingdom first is good for us because it prioritises relationships over possessions. You may have seen that modern media often publish a “lust list” but such possessions are subject to rust, decay, theft, fashion and familiarity breeding contempt.  Relationships offer a lifetime of love and being loved in supportive intimate friendships. It is in loving and being loved that we find fulfilment because love is the greatest attribute of all. So to “walk in God’s ways” should be our first priority.

Prayer: Lord I choose to walk in Your ways because Your ways are the best!