The Upper Room 4 January 2024 Devotional
The Upper Room 4 January 2024 Devotional, Thursday Message by Doug Wingert (Arizona, USA)
TOPIC: The Power of Love
TODAY’S READING
Titus 3:4-8
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. – Psalm 36:7 (NIV)
When our family relocated to the desert southwest, about the only relief from the relentless heat of the summer months was a trip to the public swimming pool. My parents enrolled my brothers and me in swimming lessons. I can still recall the fear during some of those first lessons, especially when we were taken into the deep end of the pool. But our instructors were kind, and we trusted them to keep us safe.
Many years later, my wife and I had three small children of our own, and we needed to teach them to swim so that they could be safe in and near the water. My wife, being a certified water safety instructor, taught them. I recall some thrashing, splashing, and even some crying, but our children knew their teacher was always there to support them and keep them safe from danger, and that she would not let them go. Eventually my children swam very well, competed on swim teams, and were rewarded with ribbons and trophies.
Now, in my later years, I sometimes reflect on how those swim lessons are similar to my relationship with God who is my teacher and is worthy of all my trust. Yet there are times when I thrash about and feel consumed by fear. But then I remember that God is love and will not let me go.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for your everlasting love that surpasses our understanding. Help us to remain devoted to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God will never let me go.
PRAYER FOCUS
Someone learning to swim
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.
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