40 Day Devotionals 2014 Day 15

 I have been struggling lately with how I want to do baby names. Trying to blend 2 cultures is not easy. My sister took the awesome route and gave a nod to our lives as siblings and named her daughter Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Her and I spent months and maybe even a year, playing that game side by side. We were able to bond by just getting lost in the story together. It is a time in our childhood we both reminisce about and still give gifts to each other based on. I want to give honor to my family in some way with my daughter's name, but at the same time I want her to have a name that is unique. I guess a lot of new parents must have this struggle.

So lately I have been talking to a lot of students about living double identities. I struggled with this concept myself when I first found Jesus. I couldn't wrap my head around living a life for Christ and also living in the world that we do. I have trouble thinking that you have to change everything about yourself in order to be a follower of Christ. I tried really hard when I was younger. I tried to do a lot of good things. I also tried to be a good disciple; studying the word, praying, sharing my faith. However, when I finally hit a point in my life where I was exhausted of trying, I gave up. That is when things started to go downhill fast. It wasn't until I hit the point where my life in the world consumed me, and my identity in Christ was lost that I realized a harsh lesson. The whole time I was trying to do all the work. When Christ told me he wants to be the one doing the heavy lifting. It was at that point where I let the Holy Spirit do its job, and I just listened and obeyed.

Day 15

Scripture

Matthew 6: 25 - 30

-          ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Wisdom

-          Anxiety is something we all deal with. We all have different things in our lives that cause us stress and make us anxious. We will never be free of anxiety; it is part of our life and will never go away. The question is what do we do with it? If we let it take over our lives it dominates everything we do.

-          God may have the whole universe to handle, but the truth is, your little problem matters to Him. If God cares about the birds, of course He cares about you! Our problem is we don’t like things outside of our control. We get anxious and stressed out because we don’t have Faith that the Lord can help us.

-          It takes a lot of faith to let God take control of your life. It is a difficult maneuver to make. I will be honest and say I still struggle with giving up all control. But I know if I want to start getting better sleep, I need to start trusting the Lord more.

Apply

-          Do you wonder God really cares about the little things in your life?

-          Isn’t it time you gave all your anxieties and worries and stressors to God?

-          If you can trust God with your eternal life, why not your earthly life?

Prayer

-          Thank Him for caring for even the little things in our lives. Pray for the freedom from our anxieties. If you can name exactly what they are, then do that. Tell Him exactly what is bothering you. Let Him lift those worries for you. Pray that He helps you and your friends and family cope with the daily pressures of life.