The Upper Room 22nd March 2024 Devotional: Opportunities to Serve
Read and Study Today’s The Upper Room Daily Devotional for March 22, 2024 Message written by Lucinda J. Rollings (Indiana, USA). God bless you as you study today! Please share with your friends and loved ones.
TODAY’S READING
Ecclesiastes 9:7-12
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Unscheduled hours open up opportunities to serve God.
We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:10 (CEB)
After enjoying the first few months of retirement, I found that days of fun and relaxation do not always bring the peace and contentment I thought they would. Some days I have too much free time on my hands. It’s frustrating for me not having a schedule.
As I have taken this to the Lord in prayer, asking for guidance about how to spend my time, I have received a surprising answer. I have learned that even those unscheduled hours have God’s purpose stamped on them. Sometimes the purpose may be to teach me patience or to have a positive attitude no matter what is happening — or not happening — that day. The Bible says we are to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18, NIV).
As I have accepted unplanned times of rest and relaxation, God has given me peace. I’m not rushing through my day, and I have the glorious privilege of spending more time studying scripture and in prayer. Having a more leisurely pace to my days has opened up new opportunities to serve: taking ice cream to a friend recovering from surgery, helping friends clean and pack for a move, or sitting with a cancer patient during chemo treatments. I have found God’s peace in the unplanned moments.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Almighty Father, our time is in your hands. Help us to serve you each and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
PRAYER FOCUS
Someone who has recently retired
READ MORE DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGES
