Daily Devotional
The Lord Dwells Among Us
The Lord who asks for a willing offering also promises, “You are mine.” These belong together. In Exodus, God does not take from a grudging hand; He commands gifts freely brought, that He may dwell among His people. In Isaiah, He rebukes a people who bear His name yet do not honor Him in truth. So the service God seeks is not empty ornament, nor a sacrifice left to others, but a people who remember whose they are and offer themselves with a ready heart.
This is why the thirsty soul in the psalm must not yield to despair. Tears may be its food, and reproach may ask, “Where is your God?” Yet the soul must answer itself, not with fantasy, but with hope and thanksgiving. As Origen says: “And if you should ever perceive your soul drawing back, let the mind of Christ, which is in us, say to it, when it wishes to trouble that mind as much as it can, ‘Why are you sorrowful, my soul, and why do you disquiet me? Hope in God, for I shall yet give him thanks.’”
Luke shows how this hope stands in the world: not as a vague thought, but amid altar, incense, promise, barrenness, obedience, and fear. God comes near in the place of prayer, and His word requires belief that submits, waits, and obeys. He does not promise escape from water and fire, but His presence in them. Cyprian says, “Fear not; for I have redeemed you, and called you by your name: you are mine.” Therefore let your worship be real: pray at the appointed hour, give from your goods, restrain your tongue, and keep faith when the promise delays.
“And if you should ever perceive your soul drawing back, let the mind of Christ, which is in us, say to it, when it wishes to trouble that mind as much as it can, “Why are you sorrowful, my soul, and why do you disquiet me? Hope in God, for I shall yet give him thanks.” I pray that our souls may never be disquieted, and even more that in the presence of…”
— Origen
“Nor does any one else promise to us security and protection, than He who also speaks by Isaiah the prophet, saying: Fear not; for I have redeemed you, and called you by your name: you are mine. And if you pass through the water, I am with you, and the rivers shall not overflow you. And if you pass through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame…”
— Cyprian, Treatises
For Reflection & Discussion
What offering will you freely bring today from your own goods for the church, the poor, or a person in need, rather than keeping all for yourself?
At what fixed hour today will you stop to pray, and when your soul is cast down, will you answer it with thanksgiving instead of complaint?
Where has your worship been empty while your conduct remains unchanged, and what one sin of tongue, delay, or neglect must you confess and forsake today?
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