Daily devotional, July 27, 2024 Hanging by a thread
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:17
My mother loved cross-stitching. She had a huge collection of DMC threads in all shades. She lovingly arranges them by number, and even has a special storage box meant for organizing them. In my eyes, the threads were all wonderful to look at, until I grab one, and see how thin it is and how it cannot endure much tension.
When we live our lives away from the Lord, there will come a time that we will find ourselves hanging by a thread. We will find ourselves on the verge of losing our sense of security and control over our lives. The penalty of facing the natural consequences of our sins can be too much for us to bear, that we could lose our sensibilities, and become hopeless. And then when the final blow comes — such as an inevitable life difficulty — the thread that we are hanging on might just break. And during then, we will find ourselves wallowing in deep depression, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or worse, entertaining thoughts of suicide and attempting self-harm.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
John 10:10
But once we decide to surrender our lives to Jesus, we will see that problems are temporary but God’s presence and enduring love is constant. We can start to trust in Him, and instead of hanging by a flimsy thread, we get to hold on to God’s mighty and powerful arms where no one can snatch us.
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."
John 10:28
So how do we transfer our grip onto a flimsy thread, and into the Lord’s strong arms? We can do it by praying and telling Jesus that we are accepting Him as our Savior. We will confess our sins, be sorry for all of the wrong things we have done, and commit to stop living a sinful life.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
James 4:7
We will then read and reflect on the bible so that we will know more about Jesus and His teachings. We will endeavor to follow His commands and make it our guiding principle throughout life. That all the decisions that we will make are all God-honoring.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
John 14:15
We will also live a life of worship. We will cease to be Sunday morning Jesus-followers, and instead live everyday to praise and worship Him. No, we will not resign from our day jobs or stop taking care of our families. Instead, we will prioritize our relationship with God above everything else.
We will talk to Him first thing in the morning by dedicating quiet time of prayer and bible reading. Throughout the day, we will do our work and chores as if we do it for Him and not for men. We will then close our day with prayer.
We will also connect with fellow followers of Jesus and spend time with them getting to know Him more through bible study and church activities. We will also endeavor to introduce God to others by sharing the gospel, and intentionally be like Jesus to everyone we meet by showing them brotherly care and affection.
"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."
Hebrews 13:15
Yes, it may all seem like a tall order, but it is way, way better than hanging by a thread. When we live in the fear of the Lord and in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we get to appreciate God’s undeserved mercy, His lovingkindness and favor, His unfailing love, and His perfect peace.
While it may not be a life that is free from troubles, it will be a life with an assurance that even in the midst of difficulties, we are being held by the mightiest arms of our One True God — who keeps all His promises, is all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful.
"Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:9-11
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 91:1-16 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you hanging by a thread? Have you decided to hold on to the mighty and strong arms of Jesus?
Conversation with the Lord: _Heavenly Father, thank you for reaching out to me. I am hanging by a thread and continue to be focused on life’s difficulties. Please allow me to focus on You, Your love and Your promises. I want to surrender my life to you. Amen.
