Daily Office - Saturday, March 28

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Devotional
Most of us place a higher premium on what other people think that we realize. As can be seen in Galatians, the apostle Paul understood this struggle intimately.
M. Scott Peck illustrates the point through a story of meeting a high school classmate at the age of fifteen. Here are his reflections after a conversation with his friend:
I suddenly realized that for the entire ten-minute period from when I had first seen my acquaintance until that very moment, I had been totally self-preoccupied. For the two or three minutes before we met, all I was thinking about was the clever things I might say that would impress him. During our five minutes together, I was listening to what he had to say only so I might turn it into a clever rejoinder. I watched him only so that I might see what effect my remarks were having upon him.. And for the two or three minutes after we separated, my sole thought was of those things I could have said that might have impressed him even more.
I had not cared a whit for my classmate. -M. Scott Peck  
What is most startling in reading this detailed explanation of what is going on beneath the surface of this fifteen-year-old boy, is the recognition that the same dynamics continue for most of us into our twenties, thirties, fifties, seventies, and nineties! We remain trapped in living a pretend life-always seeking the approval of others.
True freedom comes when we no longer need to be special in other people's eyes because we know we are loveable and good enough in Christ.

Question to Consider
How might it change your day today if you were to cease looking for human approval and begin seeking only the approval of God?

Prayer
Grant me courage, Lord, to do today what you have given me to do, to say what you have given m to say, and to become who you have called me to become. In Jesus' name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)