I may have taken a right when I should have continued straight ahead, but I got intrigued with the word – devotional. Do we really know what it means? Do we know how to ‘do’ it? So I did a bit of a deep dive. Most of the scriptural references on this word are found in the Old Testament… not so much the New – which surprised me. Then I looked at the secular definition and this is what i found:
“Definitions of devotion https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/devotion
noun: commitment to some purpose; feelings of ardent love; religious zeal; the willingness to serve God; religious observance or prayers (usually
spoken silently)
Help you any? If you said ‘not really’ – me too. When I looked at scriptural definitions, they were primarily examples from the Old Testament. While kinda helpful, not so much. This led me to the thought that maybe a ‘devotional’ is so individually defined and practiced that there is no commonality. The point is that we have devotional times.
I would like to share a devotional that I presented recently… this gives you an example of what a devotional is in my world – a teaching, a pondering, …
Let me ask you a question… when you turn to the Lord, is it only in crisis situations? Or maybe when “all else fails”? What kind of a relationship is this?
Now visualized yourself sitting in your favorite chair and the Lord sitting across from you and you two were just chatting? You weren’t praising, or worshiping, or seeking an answer to anything specific … just talking. Maybe He was teaching or showing you something. Maybe you were acknowledging something you were contemplating and needed His assistance. Maybe it was reflecting on the previous day. Or maybe it was looking at your ‘to do’ list and wondering.
First of all, is it even possible you can get your head around the possibility of such a personal relationship? How does that visualization make you feel? Are you uncomfortable with such an informal, personal approach? Do you feel guilty about even having such a thought? You shouldn’t. Remember Jesus calling His disciples – friends? (John 15). But when He called them friends…isn’t that extended to us as well? Read the chapter because it is also addressed to us. The End Game in all this is our perception on the word ‘relationship’ and how
this applies to the Triune God.
What IS your relationship? Would you like to have this type of personal relationship with the Lord or is it being too irreverent? Soooo what kind of relationship are you building? Do you come to the Lord only in crisis situations? Do you know Him apart from His acts? Do you know Him from His Word?
Many questions but the bottom line is that we can co-build our relationship. Remember that righteousness (who we are made according to 2 Corinthians 5:21) is the foundation to relationship. Another point to consider is that it is YOUR relationship that determines everything you believe and think about in terms of spiritual matters.
So, I’ll leave you to ponder. If it’s fellowship you desire – you can have as deep a relationship as you are willing to develop. And remember, no relationship should ever be in cement. It will always grow… if this is what you want. The danger to not growing is atrophy.
If having just read this – how does this grow your devotional time? Do you begin to understand how important it is to take the time and become you – the you the Lord has always seen. Devotion underscores a devotional time. It’s yours to create but never let it become routine. Let it always … breathe.
