Devo #4
Verse: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all this put-on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:12-14)
God desires for us to rest on Him for our decisions in life. This passage delves into how to embrace Godliness as a way of life instead of a duty to perform. Earlier in the passage it reads, “seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of the creator” (Colossians 9-10).
Immediately reading this, I thought of a scenario. Imagine you are coming home after a long day that ended at the gym. You change out of your dirty clothes, take a long shower, put on your favorite pjs, and crawl into bed. Obviously, there is no rule that you must do this to go to bed, but it does make you feel better and more prepared. In the same way, I view God as wanting us to take some preparation to shed our “worldly self” and put on the renewed spirit he gives.
This preparation can be: choosing to start your morning reading a scripture instead of the initial urge to scroll through Instagram or Tik Tok, choosing to keep your thoughts to yourself about the person getting on your nerves and pray for them instead, establishing a prayer routine on your morning drive or shower instead of music, or anything that invests in your spirit rather than your first inclination. Just like in the changing clothes analogy, you do not have to do these things to live your life. However, they will make you feel more prepared for situations you encounter and making the right decisions when you’re faced with difficulties.
God has so many beautiful plans and purposes for your future and for your day-to-day life. Sometimes these wonderful blessings are right around the corner of a small decision we can make to choose God over ourselves.
