January 20: Isaiah 26 16-18

Key Verse: Isaiah 26 17
As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.

Devotion:
Just how serious are you in your relationship with Christ? Do you talk about things and never get round to doing them with Christ, or do you do things and then talk about them?

We need to be living the right life with Christ as an example other people can look at and be encouraged by. But even as we try to do so, we are going to have times when we do not do the right thing and God is going to try to bring us round to getting things right again. It may not be a clear and visible reaction we get from God because He can and does use all of the people around us to try and keep us on the right track. Maybe the people around you are trying to tell you about something and you are not listening, thinking you know better!

God wants us to listen to all of His people so we have the best chance at living our lives with and for Him. It would not be wise for us to ignore all of the advice we are getting, especially if that advice is coming from godly people! Just like that, when we live our lives with Christ, He is able to use us to reach out to others and get them going in the right direction again.

It is going to be tough listening to others when things seem to be falling apart in our lives – even tougher when they are telling us to change and do things we don’t like doing or are too scared to do. Just maybe God is trying to get through to us!

And then there are going to be times when God is going to use us to reach out to others – maybe to bring them down a peg or two so He can reach out to their hearts like He used to be able to do. It will be tough for us as we think we are being unkind or are being stubborn; but as long as we are listening to God and obeying His requests, then we are doing the right thing.

Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to discipline others as a Christian?

How do you think God finds it when He has to discipline us?