Daily Devotion - Wednesday - December 16

​The Lowest Places
 
“Forget the former things;    do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness    and streams in the wasteland.” —Isaiah 43:18–19
 
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I’m not sure what the cutoff age for that adage is, but now nearing 50, I sometimes feel I’m getting terrifyingly close. I’m a whole lot less adventurous than I used to be. In matters of technology or music or activities or diet, I tend to stick with what I know, feeling more and more resistant to new things. The familiar allows me control, and this control provides comfort—and like most old dogs, I like comfort. When I do venture into uncharted territory, I feel the easy frustration that comes with being stretched beyond my preferences. You have heard it said, but I tell you… Jesus has a way of stretching us. Over and over again in the gospels, the message he has for those who would emulate him in the world, is, in essence, “I want to show you something new. Whatever standard you once used for how to live and treat people and find meaning, I’m asking you for more—(or rather, for less).” Regarding anger or motive or religion or revenge or comfort, he continually invites us to the low places: to a greater humility, to a deeper forgiveness, to a shrinking ego, to a bigger generosity. We almost always resist such things because initially they feel like loss, like we’re giving up too much, like we’re letting someone else get away with something. But we always find a better version of ourselves in the low places and that is why we need to keep going there. Today, as you walk deeper into this season, reflect on what part of your mind, heart, or life you are avoiding stretching, or in what situation you are resistant to setting aside your ego. Embrace a new thing.  -John Pavlov it's, Low, An Honest Advent Devotionals printed with permission from author