Read Psalm 103:1-5 Growing up, I always loved my birthday because I got tons of presents. I would love to load up on ninja turtle games, new basketballs, cards with cash, and more. Looking back, I realize that I expected things on my birthday. I enjoyed parties and things like that, but I didn’t care about the people who were there. I just wanted the stuff. Sometimes I worry that I do the same thing with all that God has given me. In one of the many Psalms that David wrote, he talks about how he praised the Lord with his inmost being. He didn’t want to forge the benefits that God had given him. God is the one who heals diseases, forgives from sin, redeems lives from the deepest pits, and shows love and compassion to all. It’s this God, according to David, who satisfies our desires with good things and renews us in Him. God is a really gracious God. He has given us much more than we could ever possibly deserve or imagine. Sometimes, though, we start expecting these great gifts from God instead of being grateful for His generosity toward us. We begin to look to God as a vending machine that gives us what we want instead of looking toward Him as an incredibly loving Heavenly father. The benefits of following God are numerous, but God is the biggest prize. Our relationship with Him should be the most valuable thing in our life. Reflect Think about your typical prayer time. Is it filled with mostly requests to God? How much of it is spent thanking God or praising Him. There’s nothing wrong with asking God for things, but our prayer time should also be a time of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. Pray Thank God for literally every single thing you can think of to thank God for today. Talk to Him about how everything around you comes from Him. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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