Switching On the Off Switch

Do not merely listen to the Word (planted in you, which can save you), and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it he will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-25

“After all, with God on our side, what could possibly be stronger? We can have the peace Jesus offers, IF we’re willing to accept it.” Lori Snyder included these words in a devotion and they got me thinking of how too often I switch on and switch off my acceptance of the peace that Jesus offers to all of us. Or, perhaps it’s not that I switch on and off my belief that Jesus the Christ is my Lord and Savior; maybe it’s that I don’t keep His peace at the forefront of everything that I do. I suspect that most people’s lives are similar to mine: Each weekday is segmented into pre-work time, work time, and post-work time. The pre-and post-work times are when I have the greatest amount of time to pray, read the Bible, reflect on all that God provides. But the eight hours of work time are often times chaotic enough that I lose focus of what’s truly important in my life: the peace that Jesus provides. Of course, I could logically argue that it’s not that Jesus’ peace isn’t still available to me during those eight hours, for surely it is; I’m just too busy to consciously reflect on that gift. But isn’t that the challenge that God puts before us? To make Christ a part of every minute of our lives, to have Him always at the forefront of our being; that’s the ultimate goal of being alive.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, hear my words of thanksgiving this day that you watch over me. Let me constantly find the peace attainable only through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. In His name I pray. Amen.

Greg Tubach (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotion book, 2008)