Daily Devotionals for Women - Today's Encouraging Word from Scripture

SPIRIT-LED RECOGNITION
By: Christine Wyrtzen

And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John 1:31

Even though the mothers of Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins, there is no record anywhere that John and Jesus knew each other as children. Even if they had, John did not know Jesus was the Messiah until God the Father revealed it to him. He was spiritually blind until God opened his eyes.

I cannot see Jesus either until God opens my eyes. I can not even recognize Jesus’ activity around me unless my heart is touched by God in a way that allows me to discern His presence. I am like a blind sheep. I am lost and cannot find my way home without being led by the hand. I did not even decide, on my own, to become God’s child. He had to grace me first with the faith to believe. I responded to His invitation. My faith only exists today because His grace births it moment by moment.

How about the times I looked back, consumed by the painful things of my past, and asked, “Where were you, God?” I was blind, ignorant that God was right there. I didn’t recognize Him. He was sustaining me at that moment, already having planned the redemption of my tragedy, knowing down the road that He would enable me to trust Him for healing. He was sovereign and active, weaving together every thread of my story. I just couldn’t see Him. Consequently, I misjudged Him. I maligned His name by accusing Him of being absent and indifferent. I’ve spent much of my last ten years repenting.

Where do you need the faith to believe Him today? Where do you know His Word but stumble in disbelief? Ask Him for the grace to believe, the grace to obey, the grace to apply it. The Word is foolishness without the enablement of the Spirit.

I know Your Word but there are times I just can't believe it's for me. Open my eyes to see You. Open my heart to receive Your voice. Without Your grace, I am defeated. With Your grace, I will soar on eagle's wings. In Jesus' name, Amen.

For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org