DEVOTION

Hi Crossings Family!

I’m honored to get to share some thoughts with you of what the Lord has been teaching me lately. Today, I wanted to share about something a little different—from a posture of exposure and repentance.

I heard a song recently that a lot of you are probably familiar with called “Nothing Else” by Cody Carnes. We sing it at church and The Gathering from time to time, but the Lord used it in my life this past week, and I heard it in a totally different way. Part of the song says “Oh, I’m not here for blessings. Jesus, you don’t owe me anything. And more than anything that you can do, I just want you. I’m sorry when I’ve just gone through the motions. I’m sorry when I just sang another song. Take me back to where we started. I open up my heart to You.”

The line that really struck me this week was “Oh, I’m not here for blessings. Jesus, you don’t owe me anything.” When I heard it, I quite literally thought, “yikes,” and made a face, because I couldn’t remember the last time I had come to time with Jesus in prayer or in his Word without an agenda.

By that I mean asking for something I wanted, thought I needed, or was sure I deserved. It is so easy in our world of instant gratification to come to God with that same attitude. I realized that’s what I’d been doing and wondered how often we find ourselves treating God like expedited shipping.

After that moment, I just kept replaying the song throughout the day as I processed this. It became a song of confession and repentance; I was truly sorry for all the times I had to come to him lately, solely with my agenda, and on the hunt for blessings.

My expectations of God are most clearly exposed when something isn’t happening that I’ve been asking him for, and I find myself disappointed or frustrated with him. It’s a really clear radar for me that I am expecting God to deliver what I want, on my time, and in my way. That’s how I would define entitlement.

I’m thankful for the truth of 1 John 1:8-9 that says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Today, I want to remind all of us that the primary goal as followers of Jesus is not to be as squeaky clean and moral as humanly possible, but rather to love God with everything we’ve got and love people as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). We should come to the Father, who is faithful to forgive us of our sins when we fall short in a posture of humility and repentance and ask him to lovingly guide us back to his ways.

I forgot for a little while—and I’m sure I’ll forget again—but today, the Lord reminded me he truly doesn’t owe me anything. The best thing he can give me is himself. I’m thankful for the reminder, I’m thankful for the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit in a moment of worship, and mostly, I’m thankful for a God who is so kind, good, and faithful to restore us every single time we wander.

PRAYER

God,

Thank you for your abundant grace that floods us daily in the present, moment by moment, not just in the past when we first met you. Thank you for your kindness to us. Thank you that we can bring anything to you: entitlement, fear, doubt, anger, lies, lust, frustration, or whatever it may be. Thank you that you are faithful and just to forgive us and purify us of all unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus. Thank you for being the greatest gift we could ever get. Forgive us when we forget that or just choose not to believe it to be true. Thank you that you see us, you’re with us, and you’re for us. We love you.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

MaryAshton Floyd

Women’s Director Young Adult / College Ministry

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