I will be honest. I have not been consistent in my time with the Lord this week. This is a “service” week for the school I teach at, and I’ve been leaving home earlier than usual, and since I usually do my devotions in the morning… Well, at least that’s my excuse….

So, with somewhat of a guilty conscience, I approached the Lord this morning to speak to me what I need to hear. I was ready to be rebuked. But what He spoke through His word was to keep on being faithful! To persevere and to keep doing faithfully what God called me to do! He spoke that to me through Hebrews 11. I was half-expecting Him to say, “If you are going to ignore me when life gets busy, why are you even in ministry???” But instead, He confirmed to me that I am His child and He loves me.

This makes me want to try all the harder to follow after Him and spend time with Him. It no way makes me think, “Well, since God didn’t rebuke me for not spending time with Him, I guess it’s okay not to if I don’t have the time.” Rather, by letting me know that He still loves me and confirms me to be his child, I want to try all the harder to please Him and be with Him!

This is the way Jesus treated Peter. Remember, Peter denied Jesus three times on that original Good Friday? But Jesus comes back from the dead and affirms Him three times to be his under-shepherd. Broken by this, Peter stayed faithful to the Lord unto death.

Jesus took the whip so that he could come at us with roses.

Do not trample on those roses. Cry out to Him if you can’t smell His fragrance. I’m confident that He will somehow in His inimitable way if we truly want to be touched by Him!

PH