TODAY’S READINGS
Psalm 29 | Isaiah 1:1-4, 16-20 | Romans 8:1-8
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Tuesday May 21
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. | Psalm 29:11
Do Your Chores
These are two common pleas for most of us who are pursuing Christ—strength and blessing. But today I was suddenly struck with the thought, What if we are desperately praying for something God has already left at our disposal? Jesus bestowed that peace on his disciples shortly before his arrest when He declared, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives, so don’t let your heart be troubled and don’t be afraid.” And as far as “strength” goes, the apostle Paul prayed over the church in Ephesus as well that “our eyes would be opened so that we could see that we have the same strength living in us that raised Christ from the dead.” It appears that both strength and peace in their perfected form are always readily available to us. And yet, two of our most common prayer requests are for “strength” and “peace.” What if both of these invaluable spiritual commodities are already available to us in endless supply, if and only if we are willing to do our spiritual chores? The longer I spend on this journey of prayer and study and worship and service, the more convinced I am that strength and peace are just the natural result of doing the hard work of spiritual discipline. But too often I am like a spoiled child. I want strength and peace without showing up and suiting up. The more committed I am to the rhythm of my “spiritual chores,” the more I am immersed in the strength and peace of God I long for. May God bless your pursuit of Him today as you wrestle with this concept. Shalom!