Monday 2 Jan 2023

January 2: John 1:19-23

Key Verse: John 1:23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”’

Devotion:
How many times have you been told to do something and you have followed the instructions exactly as told? If you are like me then you find it hard to blindly follow instructions because you want to be able to do what is good for more people and not just for a single person asking things of you. Things were a bit different for John because He knew he had been asked by God to do something special!

We may look back on things and wonder why John was out in the dessert talking to people about God and baptising them in the river. We may look at his like and wonder what possessed him to live a life where he was dressed in a shabby manner and eating strange foods when he may have been able to choose a better career instead.

God has a plan for each of us but it is not always easy to follow the plan He has for us. We may think we know better and go off and do something similar to what He is asking only to find out it was not right and you end up having to restart things. I have tried to listen to God in my life for the past twenty years and have found it hard… life keeps on getting in the way!

It is sometimes hard to focus on the little things He is asking when we have big, loud things surrounding us and taking all our attention! John’s task was simply to open the way for Jesus to do His ministry. Sometimes we get too involved with what we think we can do, get sidetracked and go off doing some pretty good things – but is it what God asked of you in the beginning?

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are listening to God?

Have you tried to make things better by yourself?