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Read Genesis 32:22-31. In this story, Jacob is on the border of his home country, hoping to enter his brother’s territory without conflict. He knows he doesn’t deserve Esau’s mercy but is received with open arms. In the bible, a new name is a symbol for a big transformation in someone’s character, life circumstance, or status. I wonder what changed for Jacob when he received the gift of mercy. Maybe he became more merciful himself. Maybe that gift compelled him to be more empathetic or kind or accepting. 

When has someone shown you kindness or forgiveness when you least deserved it? How did that act affect you? How does this compare with the gift of mercy offered in Jesus Christ? 

Offer a prayer of confession for those times when you have fallen short of the glory of God and find assurance in the promise of forgiveness.

Read Psalm 17:1-7, 15. In the opening verses of this psalm, David pleads his case for why he deserves to be delivered from his enemies. He’s a good person, he argues, someone who has shaped his life around the commandments of God. In some ways, he’s suggesting it’s only fair that God should protect him (a good person) from them (bad people). But Jesus says in Matthew 5 that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Bad things will happen to good people and vice versa. 

There is no promise of immunity from struggle if only we are good enough. There is, however, the promise that God will walk alongside and sometimes carry us through the difficulties we could never bear on our own. God redeems what might seem to be irredeemable circumstances through a new insight, having the right words at the right time, strength you didn’t know you had, a kind word from a stranger, or the company of a good friend. 

From what (or who) has God delivered you? What has God gotten you through that you know you could not have done on your own? How did God get you through it? 

Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the strength, courage, etc. that God has given you to make it through the hard times.

Read Romans 9:1-5. Here, Paul laments the fact that some of his fellow Jews have not come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised throughout the scriptures. He is so broken-hearted over this that he would offer his own life in exchange for their belief. He wonders how, knowing the history of the relationship of their own people with God, they could not trust God’s promises. Research tells us that the fastest growing religious demographic are the “nones”. These are people who, when asked about their religious affiliation, select “none”. We may wonder how that could possibly be. When we find great comfort, strength, and joy in our own faith, we cannot imagine life without it. 

What do you believe is contributing to this trend? How has the church and those individuals who make up the church failed to convince others that faith makes a difference in a person’s life? How have we failed to communicate the gift it is to follow Jesus? How might we change the perception of being viewed as hypocrites to one of being viewed as authentic followers whose values line up with those of the One we follow? 

In prayer, ask God to help your life, words, and attitudes be an invitation for others to trust in Jesus themselves.

Read Matthew 14:13-21. In verse 19, notice that before Jesus does anything with the bread and fish, he looks up to heaven. This reminds me of the athletes who point up to heaven after scoring a touchdown or winning a race. Even Jesus knows that his strength and ability to accomplish the miraculous comes from his very source of life. Sometimes, we get so busy doing our jobs, raising our families, taking care of our homes, or volunteering in our organizations, we forget to rely on God rather than ourselves. We use our strength, our ingenuity, or our willpower to get things done, but sometimes forget from whence those gifts come. 

How differently might you approach those tasks if you began each one by looking up to heaven and asking God for whatever you need to accomplish what is before you? How differently might you approach the completion of tasks if you ended them by giving thanks to God? 

Think of something that is challenging your ability to accomplish it. Look up to heaven and ask God for whatever you need in this situation. Remember to give thanks afterwards!