The Upper Room Daily Devotional from The United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Monday, 6 November 2017 "Spiritual Investment" by Jeremy Stuart (Massachusetts) - Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come. (ECCLESIASTES 12:1 (NIV))
Early one Monday morning I stumbled through my morning routine and walked to work with coffee in hand. I began the workday listening to a new song I had heard at church the day before. When it ended, my phone automatically began playing older worship songs I hadn’t heard in years. As the songs played, I found myself encouraged in a wave of remembrance of God’s faithfulness. I recounted some of the best and worst times of my life — from the early days of my relationship with my wife to seasons when I struggled with depression in college. I thought to myself, Thank you, younger me, for remembering God then, so I could find encouragement today. And as I recalled the many instances of God’s faithfulness, I wondered, Have I done a good job of investing in my spiritual life to sustain my faith through old age? Today’s quoted verse reminds us to practice our faith even before troubles befall us. Nurturing our relationship with God throughout our lives can help us to remember God’s faithfulness when challenges arise — illness, broken relationships, the death of loved ones. No matter our age, we need strength to get through tomorrow. If we invest in our relationship with God today, we can trust that God will carry us through whatever the future may hold.
Dear Lord, foster in us the desire to remember you today so that we will continue to trust in your faithfulness throughout our lives. Amen.
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Ecclesiastes 12:1 So remember your creator while you are young,
before the evil days come,
and the years approach when you will say,
“They no longer give me pleasure”;
2 before the sun and the light grow dim,
also the moon and the stars;
before the clouds return after the rain;
3 on the day when the guards of the house are trembling,
and men of courage are bent over double;
when the women stop grinding grain,
because there are so few;
when the women at the windows
can no longer see out;
4 when the doors to the streets are kept shut;
when the noise from the grain-mill fades;
when a person is startled by the chirp of a bird,
yet their singing is hard to hear;
5 when they will be afraid to go up a hill,
and terrors will stalk the way,
even though the almond tree is in bloom;
when the locust can only drag itself along,
and the caper berry has no [aphrodisiac] effect —
because the person is headed for his eternal home,
and the mourners are already gathering
in the marketplace —
6 before the silver cord is snapped
the bowl of gold is cracked,
the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
the pulley is broken at the cistern,
7 the dust returns to earth, as it was,
and the spirit returns to God, who gave it!
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How can I build memories of God’s faithfulness today that will sustain me tomorrow?
Someone struggling with depression
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Header Photo Credit: "Harvested Land," Beth Shumate. August 15, 2014. (link)
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