THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 15 JULY 2024, MONDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: A Moment to Breathe
TODAY’S READING
Proverbs 15:1-4
To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. – Proverbs 8:13 (NIV)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Soon after my father died, I was cleaning out his garage and realized some of his tools had gone missing. I immediately suspected that my two troublesome siblings had sold them to buy drugs and alcohol. I cried out in frustration and anger, “How could they disrespect my father’s memory like that?” I wanted to retaliate against them. I cried, feeling helpless and weak.
Then I remembered the words from today’s quoted scripture, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil.” And as I took a deep breath, I recited these words from Isaiah: “I am with you” (41:10).
God gave me a moment to breathe and helped me turn my thoughts away from doing something I would regret. From that experience I learned that in all situations taking a minute to breathe can help us to make good and sound decisions. God hears us and protects us even when we have lost hope. In our sorrows and in our happiness, the Lord our God is always present.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, help us always to trust in you to guide us, especially when fear and anger threaten to overpower us. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I will trust God to give me space to breathe.
PRAYER FOCUS
Estranged family members
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 15 July 2024 Message. 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. Read More