Daily Devotions
… Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you. 2 Samuel 7:3b
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
These words were first said to King David who had a dream of building a temple to glorify the Lord.
It was a heartfelt dream which did not come true.
The Lord put an end to that dream when, through the prophet Nathan, God said, “No.” The Lord had another mission for David.
These words “do whatever you have a mind to do” are attractive, and many people follow them.
Are you one of those folks?
If so, you are probably like King David and find some of those dreams have come true and some have not. That may not be so bad. After all, while the heart can be a powerful tool to guide our lives along the Lord’s path and while it can tell us the right thing to do, there are also times it can mislead us.
The bottom line is this: sometimes our heart’s dream is right; sometimes it may be deceiving, and at other times the Lord may have another, completely different plan for us.
So, what can we do? How can we tell?
First, we have to realize the heart of a sinner is deceitful by nature and therefore shouldn’t be the final decision maker in our lives. Second, we need something to trust that is more reliable than our personal wishes. That “something” is the Word of God.
We need to measure our will alongside the Lord’s revealed Word. When we do that, the Lord can instruct us, direct us and bring us into harmony with Him.
When our heart is in harmony and being directed by God, we will know what needs to be done. Even more importantly, we know what He has done and the sacrifice He has made in the sending of His Son to be our ransom from sin, death and devil.
Guided by God’s Word and with the Lord Jesus in your heart, God has given you the freedom to do as you wish because it is what God wishes. When you are guided by God’s Word, your path will be illuminated. Then you will be redirected anytime your heart’s desire is at variance with God’s will and wishes.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me the times when I put my heart’s desire at variance with Your Word. Bring me back, guide and direct me, so Your will may also be mine. This I ask in the Name of my crucified and ever-living Savior. Amen.
Biography of Author: The preceding devotion comes out of our Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Brazil. In that South American country of 200 million people, Lutheran Hour Ministries operates as Cristo Para Todas as Nações (CPTN)-Brazil. Outreach programs include “Five Minutes with Jesus,” a radio program; “Messages of Hope,” a voicemail-response service that delivers more than 10,000 Gospel replies each month and Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC).
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.