Sweet Devotion
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of October 23, 2022
What is devotion?
According to Strong’s, the noun devotion means whatever is honored as "an object of worship" (Strong’s #4574).
Webster’s defines the verb devotion to mean "an act of prayer or private worship" that is marked by dedication and loyalty.
To be a devoted lover of sweet Jesus means to faithfully and irrevocably give ourselves and all that we have to Him. Whatever we devote to Him, including our hearts, He makes holy and increases it in value, according to Leviticus chapter 27.
So, God’s kind of devotion is cyclical, as He enriches all that we give to Him.
He is flawlessly committed to us and expresses fidelity to His bride accordingly. As we receive His invitation to commit ourselves to Him we experience His sweet fruit. This means living in submission to all that He is and does.
This Heavenly marriage-devotion is beautifully expressed by King David's prayer in Psalm 61, where he "relies on the Lord’s promises to support his throne" (Hayford Bible Handbook). In verse 5 of the TPT version, he says, "You have heard my sweet resolutions to love and serve you, for I am your beloved. And you have given me an inheritance of rich treasures, which you give to all your devoted lovers."
Many of God's faithful ones, who have been stretched for a season, have kept the faith, found God in the midst and are now being rewarded outwardly. They are beginning to be released into their next assignments. Everywhere I look, they are starting and growing marriages, families, ministries and more.
They found victory deep in the valley and are now finding it in the outward expanse. They learned how to overcome, how to align with God Most High in big and small situations behind the scenes.
They laid down fear and bitterness and learned to trust in God's truth, His promises. They learned to put higher choices into practice in new areas and have increasingly become the head (and not the tail).
They have grown in holiness, and especially in patience. They learned to "live each day with holy awe and reverence" (1 Peter 1:17). They found hope and fixed it onto God's greater grace. They were reformed by Him, made stronger in Him and are now able to extend fresh expressions of hope to others.
Their joy is being made full, as they move further into God's purposes now.
Some, however, have messes to go back and clean up. This is a kind of repentance, a rededication to resurrection life in specific areas. But even these beloved ones can be encouraged, because in this accelerated season, it may not take as long as some think.
These saints have the advantage of hindsight and redemptive grace. Their rewards have not been thwarted. They are simply waiting on the other side of clean-up. Also, the timing of God's reward can be more about elements not in their control.
So, no matter where we are right now, we can be committed to God in heart and task as we continue to be prayerful, watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2). It's in this kind of devotion that Holy Spirit releases strategy and wisdom to help us become more efficient for His purposes, even in simple things. He will lift our burdens by showing us what we do not see on our own.
For me, Holy Spirit has been guiding me through an online class that I take. A few weeks ago, He directed me to re-order my sequence of tasks, which saves me a substantial amount of time each week. He has me open the quiz document first and answer the questions as I listen to the video. Then He has me read through the class notes, which involves skimming through a condensed transcript.
Before He intervened, I was reading several pages of class notes, then listening to the teaching video, then taking the open-book quiz.
But His way not only makes everything go faster and easier, it’s now more enjoyable and causes me to feel a sense of accomplishment at the outset. I can hardly believe the difference it makes in my day, both in time and attitude.
Jesus took me from daunting to doable. And He’ll do the same for you, as you reach for Him to help you in your assignments
So, pray with me if you will…
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being my rich treasure, all that I need. Thank You for revealing Yourself and Your best to me in strategy and wisdom. Thank You for caring about the common things in my life, as well as the uncommon. Thank You for bringing me up higher and sustaining me by Your grace upon grace. I call it forth and choose to rely upon it.
"Teach me more about you, how you work and how you move, so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honor to your name" (Psalms 86:11).
Help me "do everything I’ve promised you, Lord" (Psalms 56:12).
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
Amen.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
Originally published Sunday, 23 October 2022.
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