Next Level Thinking DevotionalSample

Live with the Boldness of a Son

A few years ago, there was a man from Europe who saved up money for months to buy a boat ticket to America. The trip would take two months, so the man bought a two-month supply of cheese and crackers. Day after day, he would eat cheese and crackers while watching the other passengers eat gourmet dishes. On the last day of the trip, someone approached the man with the cheese and crackers, asking him why he ate the same thing every day. Embarrassed, he answered that he only had enough money to buy the boat ticket, not the meals. The other man replied, “Didn’t you know the meals were included?!”

How many of us are living like the man with cheese and crackers when there is a spot at the banquet table waiting for us? Through Jesus, we have not been given only enough to get by in life, but Jesus has supplied us will all we need to live full lives! 

We begin to embrace this full life by understanding our identity as children of God. As long as we believe the lies that the enemy has told us about our identity, we will never live with the confidence that Jesus died for us to have.

The key to standing strong through adversity is to know who you truly are as a child of God. 

You are not a sick person fighting to be well; you are a well person fighting sickness. 

You are not an addict fighting to be free; you are a free person fighting addiction. 

You are not a defeated person fighting for victory; you are a victorious person fighting defeat. 

Luke 14 is a parable of Jesus about a son who had taken his inheritance early. The son left home, wasting all that he was given on empty efforts and careless living. When the son eventually returned to his father’s house, filthy and empty-handed, the father didn’t condemn the son for his sin. No! He passionately embraced him—filth and all—and welcomed him back home.  

No matter what you have done, know that God embraces you as His son, His daughter. You have a seat at the table.