Tune My Heart, Episode 52
- Stacy Bishop
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
Happy Sunday, friend. As you prepare for worship this morning, let’s take a moment of quiet to invite God’s presence into your awareness today.
Happy episode 52! We’ve made it an entire year together. I’ll be taking a break for a bit here, but I encourage you to go back to episode 1 next week and start over with me.
As for today, I want to give God thanks for His guidance and direction in the past year on what to share here with you all. He is always faithful to answer when we ask.
Time and time again, I would come to the writing table unsure of what I should say. A whispered prayer for help always resulted in direction. He is so faithful to do that when we ask.
James 1 reminds us this:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
-James 1:5-8
So often, we’re quick to google an answer, or text a friend or reach for a self-help book, forgetting the best resource we have. He is the source. While it seems pretty obvious that we should pray about things—whether it’s for wisdom or situations I’m overwhelmed with—I find it’s not always my go-to. It’s okay if you need that reminder, too. I wonder how different our days would be if we would simply pause and breathe a prayer before making decisions, big and small. If we would pause and ask for the right words as we respond to someone who is asking something of us or maybe to someone who is criticizing us.
The truth is, we’re self-sufficient human beings who are taught not to be dependent on others. We don’t like to not have the answers. We don’t like hesitating when we could just spew out the first words that rise to our lips, but that’s not how we, as Christians, are to live. We are to become more and more dependent on God, relying on Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to give us the guidance and wisdom we need. When we grow better and better at this, we grow more and more attached to the vine—truly abiding in Jesus. We can’t have a branch on the ground and a branch on the vine. As we do this, we’ll see the fruits of the Spirit flourish in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and—the big one—self control. That’s my desire and I’m sure it’s yours, too.
Thank you, again, for tuning your hearts with me this past year. It has been a pleasure!
Let’s pray.
Father, we thank You for Your faithfulness to us. It doesn’t sound natural to our human ears, but help us to become more and more dependent on You. Help our branches to be firmly planted in the vine, growing the fruits that You give to those who are in You. Help us to pause and pray before we react. Help us to seek You first as our source of wisdom and guidance. We repent of all the times that we don’t seek You first. Help us to fight those fleshly desires. God, we love You and we thank You for the endless reasons we have to praise You forever. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A printable/downloadable version of today's devo is available here:
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