The Daily: Tuesday May 7, 2024

Daily Lectionary Reading: Psalm 93 (NRSV, The Message); Deuteronomy 11:1-17 (NRSV, The Message); 1 Timothy 6:13-16 (NRSV, The Message)

From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love God, your God, and serve him with everything you have within you, he’ll take charge of sending the rain at the right time, both autumn and spring rains, so that you’ll be able to harvest your grain, your grapes, your olives. He’ll make sure there’s plenty of grass for your animals. You’ll have plenty to eat.
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (The Message)

Well, except...it doesn't work that way. Loving God doesn't guarantee the right amount of rain. We can love and obey God and there can be - damn it, there WILL be - drought and floods and crops that go bad. To suggest otherwise is spiritual malpractice.

So what are we to make of this passage? Is there an underlying truth for our lives?

Loving God, being true to the word of God as spoken into our lives does NOT automatically change the circumstances. It DOES transform our lives. It changes how we respond to our circumstances. And while it won't control the rain, a transformed heart is in deep relationship with the outside world. We just might see a shift in what is happening around us. 

Devotionals We Like

Center for Action and Contemplation Daily Meditation
United Church of Christ Daily Devotional
The Upper Room