“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

Devotion from a Devotion

On February 26, 2020, she sat down to read the HER ministry daily online devotion. She was quite pleased and delighted to see that it was one she had written! Trying to quell the sneaky feeling of selfish pride, she reminded herself at the conclusion that likely the devotion topic would be one she would soon be tested in: doing it right in the first place!

She went about her day which included her weekly volunteer commitment. Her shift was from 8am to noon. Just as usual, there was a lull in busy-ness until just about 20 minutes before end of shift. And end of shift is when everyone gets to go to the cafeteria for a lunch that was provided by the institution. By then she was hungry and ready to get on with her day.

As the noon hour approached, she tried to time things just right. A few of the replacement shift people began to arrive, and some of the first shift people were gathering up their things to head out for lunch, so she followed suit. She justified her actions by telling herself, “They are going too, and there are no work orders at this time, so here I go!”

As she was walking by the work order desk with her purse over her shoulder, she noticed one yellow work ticket that had not been picked up yet. There was yet one other gentleman still working her same position and without a second thought she left it there knowing he would take care of it.

The whole way to the cafeteria, then clocking out, then out to the shuttle van, she felt nauseous at her unethical and inconsiderate decision to leave early (albeit only three minutes) when she could have relieved her co-volunteer and taken the ticket herself.  To top it off, the gentleman was getting on the same shuttle! Talk about awkward!

No sooner did she get in her car than she remembered back to her early morning self-talk: “…tested in this devotion topic today.”

She knew right then and there that she must apologize and make it right with this gentleman the next week.

Of course, “she” is “me” and it was without hesitation that I approached the unexpectant gentleman with my embarrassing but sincere apology.

I cannot continue to justify my actions with any comfort of relief from “making it right.” I must daily stay in communion with the Holy Spirit so that my actions line up with my beliefs.

But God, in His infinite love and forgiveness…

I felt it only fitting to include a different lyric from the same song excerpt used in the previous devotion, to express my gratitude for His response to our repentance:

Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips
Like the sound of a symphonyto my ears
Like holy water on my skin.*

Father, oh how grateful I am that you are SO longsuffering with us! To think that all our past, present, and future sins have already been settled at the cross. Please make us momentarily aware of those watching us so that we may live out an honorable legacy.

*We The Kingdom. “Holy Water”. Holy Water. CCLI Song # 7136448 // Andrew Bergthold | Ed Cash | Franni Cash | Martin Cash | Scott Cash // © 2019 Andrew Bergthold Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) //Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) // Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) //We The Kingdom ASCAP Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) // We The Kingdom Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)