My apologies for today’s devotional coming late.
Most times, I write each one the day before. Well, yesterday was a full day. There was worship, church family game night and great time spent with our family visiting from out of time. So much fun, the thought of writing didn’t even occur to me.
I don’t pay a lot of attention to devotional metrics. But there’s one I see every day. Typically, it’s around 7am when I write the next day’s devotional for you (and me). When I schedule it, I see that about half of Another Note subscribers have already read the day’s devotional. That means there’s a group of us reading and praying around the same time.
That’s a great encouragement to me. I envision God’s people praying together early in the morning. At times, we’re praying for different things. Then again, in our unity of worship, God unites our thoughts and priorities. So, we are praying together.
Of course, if you’re someone who reads later, that is just as meaningful.
We would all probably say we want everyone to know the love and peace of Christ. Scripture tells us God does, too. And since we know the joy of following Jesus, we want other people to know it now. If they did, they’d know a new life right now. They’d experience true grace and forgiveness right now. Their troubles wouldn’t go away, but they’d see differently right now.
But right now isn’t how faith always works. Like some devotionals come late, like some of us pray later in the day, some of us come to faith later. And that’s okay. At least, we need a patient and fervent approach to ministry that makes room for that.
When the apostle Paul had his chance to speak with King Agrippa, he told the king, “I know you believe” (Acts 19:28). Agrippa replied, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian” (verse 28)? That was a bold thing for Paul to suggest.
Paul’s response was just as confident. “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am–except for these chains (verse 29).
Quickly or not.
That referenced Paul’s quickness to preach. But it may also speak to our willingness to respond to grace. Some of us hear the message of unconditional love early and respond early. Others hear it once but aren’t as quick to affirm it. That once becomes the first of many other times of hearing the message of Jesus.
Yes, we want everyone to respond quickly. But God is still using your witness and your acts of love to show them how good God is. So, whether quickly or not, keep sharing and keep loving.
Stay blessed…john