The Upper Room 24th January 2024 Devotional Message
The Upper Room 24th January 2024 Devotional, Wednesday Message by Jamie Fugitt (Missouri, USA)
TOPIC: Good Gifts
TODAY’S READING
Matthew 7:7-12
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! – Matthew 7:11 (NIV)
Three-year-old Kate had spent a day with me the previous week, and she delighted in the strawberries I had given her as a snack. When I picked her up again, her first words to me were, “Do you have strawberries?” I told her I didn’t, and I watched her eyes cloud and her smile fade. I quickly added, “But I do have oranges and bananas.” Kate’s eyes brightened, and she excitedly exclaimed, “Yeah, I like those too!” Kate enjoyed the oranges and bananas as much as she had enjoyed the strawberries.
This sweet interaction with Kate made me ponder our responses to God. We often ask for blessings and hope to receive the same gifts we were given before. But God may have a different gift in store for us. Do we respond positively to God’s good gift or do we wish for something else?
When we pray, we should be open to the gifts that God has for us in the present. James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (Jas. 1:17). God has a variety of gifts and blessings to offer, and each one may be different than the last. We can anticipate them all with the excitement and joy of a child.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Loving Father, thank you for the many gifts you have given us in the past. Help us to be open to the good gifts you are giving us today. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God has good gifts for me today!
PRAYER FOCUS
Someone who has given me an unexpected gift
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.