REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, written by a former AMI church staff, was first posted on December 9, 2014.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“A False Sense of Urgency”
Proverbs 21:5
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
In the book, Why We Buy, Paul Underhill describes various aspects of retail psychology. There are strategies that retailers employ in order to manipulate us into buying more. It’s to the point that over half of the grocery purchases in the U.S. are unplanned. One of the strategies is to create a false sense of urgency by using phrases such as “limited time offer” or “while supplies last,” even if they don’t indicate the available quantity of the item.
Just as there’s a false sense of urgency that retailers create which can lead us to financial poverty, there is often a false sense of urgency in our lives when we get caught up in the busyness of life, which then leads us down the path of poverty in our intimacy with the Lord.
There have been too many days when my intimacy with the Lord has been rushed. I would speed through His Word, rush through the list of prayer topics, say my “Amens” and rush out the door. If I’m being really honest, there are too many times when I skip it altogether and rush out the door. I find myself so hasty doing things for God and God’s people that I neglect being with the One who called me in the first place. I’ve made too many minute issues more important than they should be, and while I get things done with my time, I find myself becoming more spiritually dry.
It’s during this season that God has reminded me that a persistent, diligent, ardent longing for His presence is what will fill me. The life of abundance He has for me is received through the diligent study of His Word, the diligent prayers in His presence, and the diligent soaking in of His goodness.
Has your hastiness in this life brought upon spiritual poverty in your relationship with the Lord? This morning, God is asking us for diligence in hosting His presence because He wants us to live the life of abundance.
Prayer: Father, I ask for an increase of diligence when it comes to Your presence. Fill me with an abundance of Your love and goodness. Grow me in my longing of You. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Joshua 8
Lunch Break Study
Read Psalm 16:7-11: I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Questions to Consider
- According to these verses, what is God’s desire for us?
- What allows us to receive this blessing?
- What is the assurance given to us in these verses?
Notes
- God’s desire is to preserve us in life and to pour into us the fullness of joy.
- We receive this blessing by blessing the Lord (v. 7), by setting the Lord before us (v. 8), and by being in His presence (v. 11).
- In verse 11, it says that God makes all this known to us. It’s not about what we can do to earn the fullness of life, but about what we do to receive it.
Evening Reflection
Tonight is as good of a time to practice diligence with the Lord. Spend some time in slow, intentional engagement with Him, whether through the Word, conversational prayer, or praise. Let’s have some quality time with our heavenly Father.