September 26, 2024 Devo

Have you ever noticed that life is filled with highs and lows? It’s almost as if life is an ocean that lifts you up on a wave of exhilaration, only to drop you into a pit of despair. You land a great job. It’s everything you wanted it to be. And then, boom! A bad boss, a horrible co-worker, or a wave of cutbacks for the company, and you’re back in the pits again. Or you meet The One. You know, the man or woman you’ve been waiting for. They're perfect. They’re amazing. You can’t believe that you’re so lucky to be in a relationship with someone like this. You just know that this is IT! Until it isn’t. They show you a side you didn’t see. They do something you didn’t think they would do. They dump you and move on. And there you are, more lonely than you were before. Up and down. It’s like life can’t make up its mind.
What’s interesting is how we spiritualize the highs and lows. When life is good, God is WITH us. God is AWESOME. God is on His throne! But when the lows come, God has left us. We call it a spiritual desert and feel as if our souls are depleted. But the events of life have no spirituality to them. They just are. Good things happen, bad things happen. There are wonderful blessings, and there are painful setbacks. God doesn’t draw near to us and then leave us. The Spirit of God doesn’t go up and down. What goes up and down are our emotions. Who we are in Christ doesn’t change with the times or how we feel.
This is an important truth to keep in mind. In our passage today, Jesus has come from His experience of being baptized. It was an awesome moment with a declaration from Heaven and marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There was excitement, joy, and expectation. And what’s the FIRST thing Jesus runs into? A wilderness, hunger, and Satan himself. Way up, way down. But don’t miss this. The Spirit of God was upon Jesus at the exhilarating baptism and with Him in the wilderness. God’s not a yo-yo. Life is. Emotions are. But God’s THERE.
I just thought someone might need this today. Highs and lows happened to Jesus, and they will happen to us. The events that happen to you are not a measurement of the presence of God. Neither are your ever-fluctuating emotions. God isn’t nearer when you’re on a “high” or further away when you’re low. The Spirit of God is there…ever-present in both. So enjoy your good days and forge through your bad. The ocean of life will give you both. But our unshakeable God will be with you every step of the way. That’s God’s Word for you today.