Daily Devotions
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!'” Luke 15:17
The prodigal son at long last came to his senses. It happened after the tumult and shouting of his riotous life. He had come to his senses, with quiet moments to commune with himself and with his God. Watching the swine in the field, he evaluated his life.
Out of his reflection grew this resolve, “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” (Luke 15:18). God used this resolve, although painful to carry out, to change the young man’s life. A former prodigal son was now a penitent son. His merciful father forgave him and joyfully reinstated him as his son.
There is a time for action and a time for quiet meditation. The poet Goethe has said (in translation), “Talent is shaped in quietness, but character in the world’s stream.” Character is not formed in a vacuum but, given moral guidance and training, in the give and take of life. Talent, on the other hand, is largely perfected in silence and solitude.
Quiet time is valuable for other reasons. We need uninterrupted moments with ourselves, with those near and dear to us, with our God. “Be still, and know that I am God,” the Lord tells us through Psalm 46:10. We can come very close to God in hours spent alone on the seashore or on peaceful mountaintops. There is opportunity in the presence of God to sort things out, to rethink our lives, to resolve to amend what has been amiss. The still, small voice calls us to return to our heavenly Father and to rededicate ourselves to Him. Then we turn to God’s written Word, which speaks more explicitly to us.
God speaks to us most explicitly through His Son, who is the personal Word. Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost, to give His life as a ransom, to invite all sinners to a joyful homecoming to His Father’s house. We can hear the strains of the song, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.” He is calling to all of us.
PRAYER: Lord God, open my ears, heart, and mind so that I many hear the voice of Jesus, my Savior. Amen.
(Devotions from “With Jesus Every Day” copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)