I had a totally different devotional planned for today (pushing it to tomorrow). I woke up in the middle of the night with a lot of anxiety and when I was falling back asleep, I remember God putting this thought into my head and half-asleep me was like “Oh….that REALLY needs to be a graphic.”

This idea has been a theme for me in recent weeks: we are people who orient our lives around God’s promises and His faithfulness, not around our circumstances.

If we call Him Lord, then we make His Words the foundation of our lives. And, to quote Psalm 127, His words to us are “I am in control. I am the Builder. I am the Guard. And I am trying so hard to offer you rest...why won’t you take it?”

Something in us thinks that eating the bread of anxious toil can somehow protect us from disappointment. The more we stress and consider the worst case scenarios, the less likely they are to impact us. We choose the bread of anxious toil when God is offering us the Bread of Presence (see Exodus 25); we choose to subsist on our own limited perspective instead of inviting in the provision of knowing He is near.

Today I reject that. I reject my own impulse to predict outcomes and I reject my own insistence that I am my provider. Unless GOD builds the house and guards the property lines, my efforts are pointless. Stress TRULY has no purpose when it comes to contemplating our futures.

Prayer for Today

Jesus, I accept the provision you are trying to give me. I welcome the rest you are trying to give to me, your beloved. Be merciful as you teach me the pointlessness of my illusions of control.