Today’s Reading:
Read Isaiah 54:9-10; Isaiah 55; Isaiah 56:1-8; Isaiah 58:11
Set a timer for two minutes and wait patiently for the timer to go off. Watch as the seconds count down. Now, set a timer again for a timing of your choosing and put a plate of cookies or a special treat in front of your family with the expectation that when the timer goes off, the treat can be enjoyed. The second time you set the timer, don’t tell your family how long the timer will be set for and do not let anyone look at the seconds counting down. Compare the two “seasons” of waiting with your family. Which one was easiest?
The Israelites were in a season of waiting while they trusted that God was going to provide the redeemer that He promised. Waiting is not easy, is it? Isaiah’s message to the Israelites helped them to see that while they waited, they could trust that God was going to be faithful to fulfill HIs promise. God promised that He would not remove His love from them. Isaiah also explained that God’s thoughts were not the Israelites thoughts. The way they thought things would happen was not how it was going to occur, and they had to trust His plan. Isaiah also promised that in the waiting, that God would always lead them.
The Israelites were being told what was coming at the end of their “waiting” season. Isaiah prophesied how God would provide for them ultimately. The challenge for the Isarelites was waiting on God’s timing and not trying to make things happen in their timing.
Application/Prayer:
Spend some time asking God to help you HOPE patiently in HIS timing today. Read Psalm 39:7 and ask God to help you wait on Him today.
July Memory Verse:
“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
July memory verse coloring sheet
July Fill-in the blank activity