Topic: When You’re Walking Through a Spiritual Fog – Daily Devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries 21 November 2023
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When You’re Walking Through a Spiritual Fog
NOVEMBER 21, 2023
“… Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:14-15 (NIV)
“I’m hugging God,” my daughter said with a smile. “He’s hugging me, too, I think.”
She wrapped her arms around her tiny frame and snuggled in her bed. Her face was the perfect picture of contentment.
I knelt beside her and said a bedtime prayer, amazed at her childlike faith. “He is hugging you,” I said as I walked toward the door. And I believed it. But even as I said it, I longed to feel His presence like my 5-year-old did.
For months, I’d felt like I was walking through a never-ending spiritual fog. My tried-and-true ways of connecting with God weren’t working, and my faith felt tired and routine. When I opened my Bible, I didn’t feel the same fervor I once had.
This wasn’t the first time I’d gone through a season like this, but this one hit me with a new intensity. Doubt in my ability to hear God turned into discouragement, and I wondered what I was doing wrong.
As I reflected on my daughter’s statement, I realized something. She knew she didn’t have to do anything extraordinary to feel God’s embrace. Instead, she curled up and enjoyed it.
Also Read: Open Heaven 21 November 2023 – A PURE HEART
Sometimes I fall into a pattern of thinking I need to have everything completed on an invisible checklist to attain connection with God. But God wants me to enjoy Him like a kid lost in her daddy’s embrace. In the same way I relish sunshine on my face on a winter day, He wants me to know His warmth isn’t dependent on anything I do or don’t do.
In Mark 10, we see people were bringing their children to Jesus for Him to put His hands on them and bless them. When His disciples rebuked the parents, Jesus admonished, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:14-15).
As I studied these verses, one word stood out to me: “receive.” Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is a gift we receive, not something we strive to attain by completing items on a checklist. When we declare our faith with our mouths and accept Jesus as Lord, we are given a place in His Kingdom forever.
In the weeks after the bedtime prayer with my daughter, I added this to my morning prayer: God, help me live in the joy of Your presence. I continued to pray throughout the day and on my evening walks, and I added this simple request.
While there wasn’t a sudden shift or a light-bulb moment, with time, I noticed God’s presence in everyday moments I had often overlooked before. The birds making a nest right outside our kitchen window. The way the morning sun lit up the dew on our lawn like glitter. Instead of approaching my time with God like a chore, I allowed myself to be still.
Although dry seasons still come, God used this time of my life to awaken the childlike wonder in me. He showed me how a simple, heartfelt prayer can shift my perspective, and it’s one I continue to pray today.
God, thank You for the gift of uncomplicated faith. Thank You for the ability to come to You without a list of to-dos and to be still in Your presence. When we stumble through spiritual fog or lose our wonder, renew our childlike amazement in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
FOR DEEPER STUDY
Ephesians 2:17-18, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (NASB).
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