Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 — Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter  any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

It was June last year when a good friend suggested I start to write a devotional. I was uncertain at first. Could I do it? Would it be any good? In fact in the introductory piece I wrote “My first reaction was “No, not me … Too much, people won’t always like what I say … Does he know how much work that is?” Those were all honest reactions, but still… I suppose the truth is, I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’ll quickly run out of things to say that draw people closer to Christ. I’m afraid I’ll put my foot in it, and upset someone. I’m afraid – horror of horrors – that I’ll get the theology wrong, and bring the wrath of the unforgiving down on my head.” Despite all that I got started, and this is the five hundredth piece. Seems like a good time to take a deep breath and see how we’re doing!
I still can’t answer most of those questions. I can say, though, that my fear of running out of ideas was unfounded. Not that, I have discovered, I have any ideas of myself. If I’m at a loss, and I just try to “think of something” it’s a waste of time. If, on the other hand I pray, go to my Bible … the Holy Spirit will put something in my mind.
I see that these devotions have been about a wide variety of topics, with “Christmas”, “God”, “Jesus”, “Love” and “Salvation” being most frequent. I’m glad, because those do seem to be the things that should be most important – but maybe, given the source of inspiration, I shouldn’t be surprised!
What has surprised me – so much that I’d recommend the practice to others, is that this business of writing a daily devotional has had unexpected benefits for me.
— It’s pointed out to me things that I should change in my life.
— It’s taken me to parts of the Bible that I otherwise might not visit very often.
— It’s made me more grateful, as I have been guided to write about things God has done for me and for others.
— It’s helped me make sense of things happening in my life.
— It’s helped me pray for people and situations I might otherwise have missed.
— Sometimes, it’s just allowed me to vent!
Blessed as I am, I’m going to keep writing until the Spirit stops driving. For those of you that have been with me on the journey, and will go further – thank you very much, and may God bless you.