Probably the most treasured of daily devotionals since before I was born is “Our Daily Bread.” I don’t know how many gazillions of them have been printed and how many hundreds of thousands of people have been touched in some way by it in some way. Another one becoming more popular is “The Word For You Today Daily Devotional.” I just picked up the December-February issue to see a chocolate muffin on its cover. Have you ever stopped to think about the comparisons of the Word of God and the food we daily eat? Have you stopped to think that just as there may be some foods in which you find a sense of comfort because of their history in your life that there are also some passages in God’s Word that touch you in the same way? Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 15:16 “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.” And in Psalm 34:8 we read, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
This week, as Bob is still down with pneumonia, I am filling in for him and will be speaking on one of those comfort passages in my own life. I won’t tell you what it is yet. Just as I will be encouraging the listeners on Sunday to reflect on one of those special comfort passages in their own lives, I encourage you to do likewise.
I prepared a few guiding questions that you might use in the process as food for thought.
1. What it is about this special passage that is so rich, that touches you to bring you comfort or strength to take the next step?
2. What does this passage tell you about the author of it? What does it teach you about God and how does that teaching help you to put whatever it is that faces you back into perspective?
3. When did this passage become special? How have you seen God’s faithfulness as time has passed, and how does that encourage you in trusting Him today?
These daily devotionals have not remained popular for as long as they have without a reason. In each of them the writer takes you to a passage of Scripture, gives you a story about its special impact on his or her life, and then challenges you to think on it with God throughout the day. The homey way in which they are most often written continues to draw people in just as a favorite meal, and the richness of God’s Word continues to bring richness to our lives as His Spirit moves in our hearts.
Joe Burgess
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