October 16, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"Joyful Expectancy"
Acts 17:24-31
New International Version
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man, he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of
us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he
has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
The demands of a busy schedule sometimes leave little room for quiet moments in God’s presence. Without periods of meditation and prayer, our spiritual senses become dull. But when we regularly communicate with our Father and spend time pondering His Word, we will see things more clearly. Then, we can better appreciate all that He is working to accomplish, through, and for us.
The same is true in our prayer life. For instance, we readily acknowledge the Lord’s intervention and rejoice when it occurs on our behalf. But if our request isn’t granted or
timing doesn’t match ours, we might incorrectly conclude He’s inactive. However, today’s reading demonstrates the magnitude of God’s power and care, and we can watch with joyful expectancy for whatever He chooses to bring about.
