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Daily Devotionals
Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.”
It is possible to be so busy that our souls become barren. Too much activity causes us to be occupied too much with our work and too little with our God. Preachers who do not spend much time alone in meditation and communion with the Lord soon give out second-hand messages that have little or no spiritual power. We should all pray, “Lord, deliver me from the barrenness of a busy life.” Many believers are afraid to be alone. They must be with others, talking, working or traveling. No time is spent in quiet contemplation. The pressures of modern life encourage us to be hyperactive, to be overachievers. We build up a momentum of activity and it is difficult to slow down. Life seems to be a continual push, push, push, go, go, go. The result is that we do not develop deep spiritual roots. We still spout the same pious truisms that we shared with people twenty years ago. No progress in twenty years!
And yet there are those who discipline themselves to break away from the rat race, who refuse invitations, who put aside secondary activities so that they can spend time alone with the Lord. They resolutely make time for prayerful meditation. They have a hideaway where they can tune out the noise of the world in order to be alone with the Lord Jesus.
These people have an inside track with the Lord. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.”. God reveals secrets to them that we, in our frenzied lives, know nothing about. There is a communication of divine intelligence concerning guidance, concerning events transpiring in the spiritual realm, concerning the future. Those who dwell in the sanctuary often have visions of God that those who live in the suburbs know nothing about. It was the one who leaned on the Savior’s bosom who was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
I often think of these words of Cecil: “I say everywhere and to all, you must hold intercourse with God or your soul will die. You must walk with God or Satan will walk with you. You must grow in grace or you will lose it; and you cannot do this but by appropriating to this object a due portion of your time, and diligently employing suitable means. I know not how it is that some Christians can make so little of recollection and retirement. I find the spirit of the age a strong assimilating principle. I find it hurrying my mind away in its vortex, and sinking me among the dregs and filth of a carnal nature…! am obliged to withdraw myself regularly and to say to my heart, ‘What are you doing? Where are you now?’“
'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' Copyright 2007 © William MacDonald. 'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
