NIV 365-Day Devotional Plan (2017)Sample

The Full Eight Seconds

“What’s the secret to being a good bull rider?”

When a newspaper reporter asked a Montana cowboy that question, he pushed back his hat and grinned: “You’ve just gotta want to hang on worse than the bull wants to throw you off.”

Jacob might have preferred eight seconds on the back of a bull to the situation he faced. As he traveled to Canaan—a journey that would reunite him with Esau, his brother—Jacob carried not only his possessions but also a heart full of guilt and sin. He’d taken his brother’s birthright and blessing and had lived ever since in constant fear that Esau would seek revenge. Feeling desperate and overwhelmed, Jacob spent a night alone to take advantage of a little peace and quiet.

Instead, he got the fight of his life—a wrestling match with God!

Have you experienced something similar? Maybe you’re troubled with a stressful situation at work, a dispute at church, a disagreement with a friend or a struggle within your family. So you seek a place that will give you a moment or two of peace or stability, only to find that the emotional and spiritual load you’ve been carrying has settled firmly on your shoulders. And rather than clinging to the One who can provide real relief, you find yourself making the situation worse by dwelling on the burden and letting worry get the best of you.

Sometimes you have to put everything else aside, reach out to God and hold on with everything you’ve got. The only way you can really escape the burden of sin and guilt is by embracing the One who defeated these burdens—along with death. Make no mistake—the God who created the world, who holds the stars in check and who knows the most minute issues that you struggle with, cares. He loves you and is waiting for you to trust him with your cares and concerns—present, past and future.

To paraphrase that wise Montana cowboy, “You’ve just gotta hang on to God more than sin and guilt want to pull you away.”

In what situations are you tempted to let go of God? Why?

Taken from NIV Men's Devotional Bible