Redeeming the Season - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2024

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 22-23, Titus 1

He made the moon to mark the seasons.
Psalm 104:19

Today's Scripture & Insight:

Leisa wanted a way to redeem the season. So many of the autumn decorations she saw seemed to celebrate death, sometimes in gruesome and macabre ways.

Determined to counter the darkness in some small way, Leisa began to write things she was grateful for with a permanent marker on a large pumpkin. "Sunshine" was the first item. Soon visitors were adding to her list. Some entries were whimsical: "doodling," for instance. Others were practical: "a warm house"; "a working car." Still others were poignant, like the name of a departed loved one. A chain of gratitude began to wind its way around the pumpkin.

Psalm 104 offers a litany of praise to God for things we easily overlook. "[God] makes springs pour water into the ravines," sang the poet (v. 10). "He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate" (v. 14). Even the night is seen as good and fitting. "You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl" (v. 20). But then, "The sun rises . . . . People go out to their work, to their labor until evening" (vv. 22-23). For all these things, the psalmist concluded, "I will sing praise to my God as long as I live" (v. 33).

In a world that doesn't know how to deal with death, even the smallest offering of praise to our Creator can become a shining contrast of hope.

By: Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray
How do you and your friends deal with the idea of death? What are some ways you might make the world curious about the hope you have in Jesus?

Thank You, Father, for the multiple good things You've placed on this earth. Make my life a grateful offering of praise to You.