DAY 16
[5 minutes]
Mindsetter Moment: “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Ps 34:11-14
How did the no negativity challenge go yesterday? Our words have incredible power to shape our lives and influence others. The Psalmist says if we want a good life we need to consider our words and our actions. Our words are like seeds spread on the soil of people’s hearts, we will grow a harvest of peace or strife based on the seeds we have sown.
Take the word challenge a step further; pay attention to how many kind and encouraging words you share today.
[15 minutes]
Scripture reading:
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1
Psalm 34:11-22
Proverbs 21:14-16
Devotional thought
Were you yawning during the Nehemiah portion today? Are you thinking “why is all that boring stuff in the Bible?” It is important to remember that our text contains not just the story of God, but also the story of people learning to partner with God, and this whole partnership thing includes the mundane.
It can be easy to neglect the little details; those minor organizational pieces that can make or break a project. Have you heard the saying “the devil’s in the details”? Interestingly, this saying was actually derived from an old German proverb, which translates to “God is in the detail.”
Originally the proverb was used as a reminder to be trustworthy and honest even in the simplest of tasks. At some point in the early-mid 1900s, the phrase changed to express the danger of not paying attention to the small nuances that are so easy to overlook.
What applies to me?
You might be a detailed person so this is speaking your language. There are also plenty of us who want to skip over the tedious parts and get to the “good part.” The reality is that there is no “good part” without the tedious, boring, and mundane. A slightly unlevel foundation can cause serious problems by the time builders get to the roof.
Perhaps the original German proverb had the right idea, God is in the details. Those boring, tiresome parts of life that we would like to skip over are a key element of our partnership with God. The apostle Paul writes, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
Now, Paul is writing about sacrificing to idols, but that is just one example of applying this concept. Some members of the church were worrying a lot about this detail, while others were not worried enough about being considerate. Paul brings God into this complicated issue and the answer becomes clear.
The details of our lives are where God is waiting to meet us. When we look for God in the frustrating, difficult or mundane, our ordinary, everyday lives become so much more than the sum of our to-do list. Look for God today in your least favorite task. Worship when you want to be annoyed. Your story is not just your story, it is God’s story too.
[10 minutes]
Write it out: Write down your least favorite or most challenging task. Then write 2-3 ways to invite God into that part of your life.
Pray it out: Ask God to reveal himself to you in the small things. Nehemiah was there for the big mission, and he stayed present in the mundane. Take a few minutes to worship during your prayer time today.
Live it out: Use your frustrating or boring tasks as a moment to worship. Look for God in the details.
Mindsetter Moment: “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Ps 34:11-14
How did the no negativity challenge go yesterday? Our words have incredible power to shape our lives and influence others. The Psalmist says if we want a good life we need to consider our words and our actions. Our words are like seeds spread on the soil of people’s hearts, we will grow a harvest of peace or strife based on the seeds we have sown.
Take the word challenge a step further; pay attention to how many kind and encouraging words you share today.
[15 minutes]
Scripture reading:
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1
Psalm 34:11-22
Proverbs 21:14-16
Devotional thought
Were you yawning during the Nehemiah portion today? Are you thinking “why is all that boring stuff in the Bible?” It is important to remember that our text contains not just the story of God, but also the story of people learning to partner with God, and this whole partnership thing includes the mundane.
It can be easy to neglect the little details; those minor organizational pieces that can make or break a project. Have you heard the saying “the devil’s in the details”? Interestingly, this saying was actually derived from an old German proverb, which translates to “God is in the detail.”
Originally the proverb was used as a reminder to be trustworthy and honest even in the simplest of tasks. At some point in the early-mid 1900s, the phrase changed to express the danger of not paying attention to the small nuances that are so easy to overlook.
What applies to me?
You might be a detailed person so this is speaking your language. There are also plenty of us who want to skip over the tedious parts and get to the “good part.” The reality is that there is no “good part” without the tedious, boring, and mundane. A slightly unlevel foundation can cause serious problems by the time builders get to the roof.
Perhaps the original German proverb had the right idea, God is in the details. Those boring, tiresome parts of life that we would like to skip over are a key element of our partnership with God. The apostle Paul writes, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
Now, Paul is writing about sacrificing to idols, but that is just one example of applying this concept. Some members of the church were worrying a lot about this detail, while others were not worried enough about being considerate. Paul brings God into this complicated issue and the answer becomes clear.
The details of our lives are where God is waiting to meet us. When we look for God in the frustrating, difficult or mundane, our ordinary, everyday lives become so much more than the sum of our to-do list. Look for God today in your least favorite task. Worship when you want to be annoyed. Your story is not just your story, it is God’s story too.
[10 minutes]
Write it out: Write down your least favorite or most challenging task. Then write 2-3 ways to invite God into that part of your life.
Pray it out: Ask God to reveal himself to you in the small things. Nehemiah was there for the big mission, and he stayed present in the mundane. Take a few minutes to worship during your prayer time today.
Live it out: Use your frustrating or boring tasks as a moment to worship. Look for God in the details.