A Difficult Day
Scripture – John 11:28-32: And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) Rather than the usual way I do this, I’m not going to comment directly on this passage. For the observations I wrote down are just a rehash of what John has recorded. The problem is I let this day get away from me. I usually sit down and do my Mini-Journal reflecting first thing in the day. However, today is my regular day off from usual church duties and responsibilities. Often on Mondays I sleep a little later. Then I read the paper, get everyone else off to work and school and catch some headlines on TV. Then I sit down to do my devotional reading and recording. Today a lot of miscellaneous things happened that took my time and attention. I won’t go into those details. It’s enough to say it was later in the afternoon when I sat down with the Mini-Journal. By then, my mind was racing with so many different things, I had a very hard time paying attention to anything I was reading. It was much like the story Jesus told in Luke 8 about a farmer sowing seed. By this time of day the ground of my life is so full of weeds and thorns, the seed doesn’t have much chance. What I do know is this day has been filled with challenges and frustrations. They would have been there anyway. But I made it all much harder because I didn’t have good soil ready to receive the seed of God’s word first thing.
Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) Every day, I will do my devotional reading and writing before I read the paper and turn on the TV. I will prepare myself as best I can to let the word sink in and take root before I get too far into the day.
Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, thank you for this lesson. Thank you for your patience and grace. Thank you for your living word and its power in my life.
Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) Rather than the usual way I do this, I’m not going to comment directly on this passage. For the observations I wrote down are just a rehash of what John has recorded. The problem is I let this day get away from me. I usually sit down and do my Mini-Journal reflecting first thing in the day. However, today is my regular day off from usual church duties and responsibilities. Often on Mondays I sleep a little later. Then I read the paper, get everyone else off to work and school and catch some headlines on TV. Then I sit down to do my devotional reading and recording. Today a lot of miscellaneous things happened that took my time and attention. I won’t go into those details. It’s enough to say it was later in the afternoon when I sat down with the Mini-Journal. By then, my mind was racing with so many different things, I had a very hard time paying attention to anything I was reading. It was much like the story Jesus told in Luke 8 about a farmer sowing seed. By this time of day the ground of my life is so full of weeds and thorns, the seed doesn’t have much chance. What I do know is this day has been filled with challenges and frustrations. They would have been there anyway. But I made it all much harder because I didn’t have good soil ready to receive the seed of God’s word first thing.
Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) Every day, I will do my devotional reading and writing before I read the paper and turn on the TV. I will prepare myself as best I can to let the word sink in and take root before I get too far into the day.
Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, thank you for this lesson. Thank you for your patience and grace. Thank you for your living word and its power in my life.
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