Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."¹

Vern Treat tells about a scuba diver who said that "when you're in deep water, you're encircled by light, so there's no way you can tell which way is up because the water diffuses the light. You're also totally weightless, so you have no sense of gravity.

"Surrounded in an aura of light and weightlessness, it's very easy to lose all sense of direction and get disoriented. You may sense that this way is up and that your air bubbles are going sideways. You may be so convinced that your perception is true that you decide to ignore your bubbles and go the way you think is up. I wouldn't be surprised if some divers have drowned because of this. One of the first things we were told when learning to scuba-dive was to always trust your bubblesâ€"to always follow your bubbles. No matter how you feel, no matter what you think, your bubbles are always right."

Life can be like that at times too. If we base the rules of life on our feelings and/or perception, we can be very easily led astray. The philosophy, "If it feels good it must be right," is a dangerous guide to follow because our feelings can play all sorts of tricks on us. If something is wrong, it is wrong regardless of how we feel. True, it's important that we don't deny or repress our feelings because we can learn to trust themâ€"but what we can't always trust is our interpretation of them or understand what they are telling us.

In life the only safe guide to follow when it comes to fruitful and successful living is to trust God and his Word, the Bible. Therein lie the "bubbles of life" to follow. These "bubbles" are always right. Always!

"Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word, the Bible, and for giving us principles for healthy living and loving. Give me a love for your Word and the desire to hide it in my heart so I won't sin against you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 119:11 (NIV).

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