Daily Devotional

In my office, I have a whiteboard on my wall that I rely on quite a bit to help me stay organized. Usually, I’ll list out all the things I need to do in different categories and then cross them out one by one. Whenever I finish a task, I walk over to my board and cross it off and then look over to see what’s next. Even now, I have written on it “write daily devotional” so here I am, doing what’s next on my list.

This whiteboard is usually filled with items that are crossed off and yet to be crossed off. I
recently crossed off the 60^th and final item I had written on my board. Once all my items are crossed off, I then erase everything and make a new list of all the things I need to do next. The difference this time was that after I crossed off my last item, I didn’t have time to write out my next list. This is a pretty important step for me; I feel like all the things I need to do are spinning around in my head until I get them out in writing. I left my office with a blank board, which was not only a rare sight but also a frustrating one.
 
The next morning when I got back to my office, I saw that my board was no longer blank but instead was almost completely covered. On Wednesday nights one of the high school small groups meets in my office and they had left notes of encouragement on my board. There’s usually no space on this whiteboard, but they saw an opening this time and went for it. It was a pretty simple gesture, but I have to admit it filled me up with encouragement.

It's so easy for me to think I have things figured out and can get rather annoyed when I have a detour I didn’t plan for. I guess you could say it’s pretty easy for me to rely on my own understanding. I need to be reminded that sometimes what makes the most sense to me might not actually be the best way. I felt like I needed to make a list, God felt like I needed some encouragement. Guess who was right?
 
I was also reminded me how important space is, not just on a whiteboard but in our lives. Once again, this seems counterproductive and yet it’s not. It’s so easy to fill our lives to the brim with all the things we have to do. Once one list is completed it’s time to make a new one and on and on it goes. When we leave a little space, we might find that we’ll actually have a life with more fullness rather than just a life that’s more full. I can definitely say that even though I didn’t start that Thursday with a list, I started with a full tank and was ready to tackle a new day.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.