Weekday Devotionals - Raquel
The Gospel is simple. Sometimes people complicate it.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” -John 3:16-17 NLT
We might find ourselves wondering, “Am I doing enough for God? Am I being a good and faithful servant?” What a blessing it is that here in America we have endless resources to learn about God’s word! However, at the same time, having so many options can be stressful and cause confusion trying to decide which resources are accurate.
Whenever I feel this way, I take it back to God’s character. Who is He at the core? What does He desire most from me as a believer? Aaron said it beautifully and simply on Sunday. What God is after most is a willing spirit.
“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...” 2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT
David is an example of this. We look at some of the decisions David makes and shake our heads in disappointment. But he is also known as “a man after God’s heart.” And God is proud of David. He loves David dearly because of that! God doesn’t overlook the sins, but David repents of those sins. He maintains a willingness to learn from his mistakes instead of remaining unmovable in his ways. Pastor Aaron put it this way, “David wants to be molded and shaped by the Lord. He trusts in the Lord. God doesn’t base David’s whole life on his bad moments. God sees a moldable, shapeable, and willing heart.”
Naturally, I am a classic overthinker. I tend to analyze every situation and often times create (unlikely) scenarios in my mind which can drive myself and those around me bonkers! “Did I say the wrong thing? Do the wrong thing? Should I have handled that situation differently? What if ____ happens?” Hopefully some of you can relate to my struggle. It can be exhausting. Sometimes I’m tempted to blame it on all the things that “disqualify me”… “well that’s just my anxiety and OCD. I have PTSD and it’s all my trauma’s fault. I can’t help it.” As Popeye puts it, “I yam what I yam!” We experience these type of struggles because it’s part of our humanity, but it does not have to define us.
“Mankind has expectations, God has invitations.” He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! Praise the Lord for His Spirit living within us! It is ok that I might think these thoughts because thinking them is not the sin. It becomes sin when I trust in anything else more than God. The good news is that although these thinking patterns might feel overwhelming and consuming, we have been given a way out of this cycle. The simple Truth is, when we accept Jesus as our Savior we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to counsel us, help us, teach us, and transform us. God is at work within us 24/7. Are we listening? Are we keeping that faith like a child to hear from our Father? Are we abiding in His will?
Just like David, we will mess up and make mistakes. We will fall. But, the Lord never tells us to stay down or that our sin is unredeemable. He says “that it’s already been paid for. Repent. Come back to Me. Let Me help you. I will renew you and restore you.” All we need to do is maintain a willing heart and He promises to use us in mighty ways to glorify Him.
The next time we ask ourselves, “Am I doing enough? Am I enough?” Remember that what will make the most difference is not the people who can recite Scripture perfectly or those who never miss a Sunday at church. What will make the most difference is a surrendered people with a willing heart to go out in to the world, be a vessel of God’s goodness, and live out the values, the attitudes, and the actions of the people of God.
-Raquel Simmons
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” -John 3:16-17 NLT
We might find ourselves wondering, “Am I doing enough for God? Am I being a good and faithful servant?” What a blessing it is that here in America we have endless resources to learn about God’s word! However, at the same time, having so many options can be stressful and cause confusion trying to decide which resources are accurate.
Whenever I feel this way, I take it back to God’s character. Who is He at the core? What does He desire most from me as a believer? Aaron said it beautifully and simply on Sunday. What God is after most is a willing spirit.
“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...” 2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT
David is an example of this. We look at some of the decisions David makes and shake our heads in disappointment. But he is also known as “a man after God’s heart.” And God is proud of David. He loves David dearly because of that! God doesn’t overlook the sins, but David repents of those sins. He maintains a willingness to learn from his mistakes instead of remaining unmovable in his ways. Pastor Aaron put it this way, “David wants to be molded and shaped by the Lord. He trusts in the Lord. God doesn’t base David’s whole life on his bad moments. God sees a moldable, shapeable, and willing heart.”
Naturally, I am a classic overthinker. I tend to analyze every situation and often times create (unlikely) scenarios in my mind which can drive myself and those around me bonkers! “Did I say the wrong thing? Do the wrong thing? Should I have handled that situation differently? What if ____ happens?” Hopefully some of you can relate to my struggle. It can be exhausting. Sometimes I’m tempted to blame it on all the things that “disqualify me”… “well that’s just my anxiety and OCD. I have PTSD and it’s all my trauma’s fault. I can’t help it.” As Popeye puts it, “I yam what I yam!” We experience these type of struggles because it’s part of our humanity, but it does not have to define us.
“Mankind has expectations, God has invitations.” He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! Praise the Lord for His Spirit living within us! It is ok that I might think these thoughts because thinking them is not the sin. It becomes sin when I trust in anything else more than God. The good news is that although these thinking patterns might feel overwhelming and consuming, we have been given a way out of this cycle. The simple Truth is, when we accept Jesus as our Savior we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to counsel us, help us, teach us, and transform us. God is at work within us 24/7. Are we listening? Are we keeping that faith like a child to hear from our Father? Are we abiding in His will?
Just like David, we will mess up and make mistakes. We will fall. But, the Lord never tells us to stay down or that our sin is unredeemable. He says “that it’s already been paid for. Repent. Come back to Me. Let Me help you. I will renew you and restore you.” All we need to do is maintain a willing heart and He promises to use us in mighty ways to glorify Him.
The next time we ask ourselves, “Am I doing enough? Am I enough?” Remember that what will make the most difference is not the people who can recite Scripture perfectly or those who never miss a Sunday at church. What will make the most difference is a surrendered people with a willing heart to go out in to the world, be a vessel of God’s goodness, and live out the values, the attitudes, and the actions of the people of God.
-Raquel Simmons
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