CFNN Reporter: Brianna Keen

Welcome to week two of Dive in Devotion with me, Brianna Keen! This week is the start of a new Colts for Christ process, where from now on we will have student-led devotions on Tuesdays and Coach Britt will lead from FCA given devotions on Thursdays. 

Are you scared of the dark? Your future? Things that aren’t certain? I know I can often feel overwhelmed and frightened of what I cannot see, but the good news of Psalm 91 is that God will protect us from those scary things. The title of Psalm 91 is My Refuge and My Fortress, which is what I brought to the meeting on Tuesday morning. It stresses the point that the Lord will be our safe place and our protector when we dwell in His shelter. He will be your fortress when you are faced with dark things, in both the seen and unseen realm. When we commit our lives to Christ, the enemy will commit time and resources to take you away from that light and back into darkness. Life will not be “happy fun time” all the time when you allow Jesus into your heart, because there is darkness that stalks like a lion, preying on you in your weak moments with the goal to take you away from the Almighty. But remember brothers and sisters, the demons and darkness tremble in Jesus’ presence and even at the mention of His holy name. In Matthew 8, Jesus comes across two demon possessed men who say “What have you done, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before time?” Notice that these demons immediately know the authority Jesus holds and speak in fear of what He will do to them. They then beg Jesus to send them into a nearby herd of pigs, which He does. Remember this miracle when worrying about spiritual warfare and the darkness that is in this world. Think about Psalm 91 where we read that the Lord will guard us in all our ways. You are beyond precious to Him, and He will not let any evil befall you. Rejoice in this good news!

Today, Coach Britt led the devotion that focused on “following through” in our lives. He related it to sports such as golf and basketball where the follow through motions are vital to being successful. This is the same idea with our prayer life and our overall relationship with the Lord. He posed the question “how many times do you tell someone you’re going to pray for them, and then you don’t?” For believers, this is a common action we say we will follow through on, but then we wind up forgetting sometimes. Coach Britt urged us to be intentional and consistent in what we say we are going to do. Part of having a relationship with Jesus Christ is praying, reading His word, and loving others as He loves them. This is of course easier said than done, but we should try daily to be more like Jesus, which requires intentionality. It reminds me of the saying “Jesus died for you, but will you live for Him?” We can see God’s intentionality in many things, but the first that comes to my mind is the story of Jesus. A few weeks ago, my dad and I were talking about the Lord’s sovereignty over all nations and he said something that has stuck with me ever since. What he said was this: God, completely knowing, rose up the same Rome that would later mock and torment His son, ultimately sending Him to the cross to be crucified. If that does not display God’s intentionality, I’m not sure what does. I know we will never be perfect, but we should always strive to be intentional with everything. If you don’t know what that looks like, look to the King of Kings. He is the perfect example, so open your eyes to see and your ears to hear who He is. You would be surprised at the ways He will work in you, if you allow Him. 

Thank you for reading, and remember to pick up your cross daily!