THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL 20TH NOVEMBER 2024, WEDNESDAY MESSAGE
Read The Upper Room Devotional 20th November 2024 written by George T. Wilkerson (Maryland, USA)
TOPIC: Staying Available
Today’s Reading
Romans 12:1-8
In all your ways submit to [the Lord], and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:6 (NIV)
Today’s Message
My ministry entails editing a newsletter to help inmates like me who are on death row. Recently, while I was organizing the next issue, an elderly inmate came to my cell and asked me to help him find his glasses. Though a little frustrated at the interruption, I went to help. An hour later, I had just sat back down when another person came to vent to me about his marital problems. I listened. After that, someone else called for me, also needing my time and energy.
I was getting irritated because I felt I couldn’t focus on editing the newsletter — the work God had called me to do. I prayed for peace, and God brought a verse to mind: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Prov. 16:9). I realized that although my writing ministry is valuable, sometimes God wants me to serve in unpredictable ways.
It is easy for us to get locked into patterns of service and make ourselves unavailable to God. But we are not our own; we are God’s. There are many ways to minister, and God is always at work (see 1 Cor. 12:4-6). Our job is simply to maintain humble, willing, and obedient hearts that follow where God leads.
Today’s Prayer
Loving Father, grant us the wisdom to see your guiding hand, and remind us to stay open to unexpected opportunities to serve. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Interruptions can lead me exactly where God wants me.
Prayer Focus
To see interruptions as opportunities
The Upper Room Devotional 20th November 2024, 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. Read More