TUESDAY: PUTTING ON LOVE, FAITH, AND HOPE

Aug 23, 2022
3 min read

Lord, I don’t want to be discouraged today. I pray as I seek You that my spirit will be encouraged by receiving Your love and Your grace in my heart.

1 Thessalonians 5:6-11

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

There is a difference between day and night, just as there is a difference between light and darkness. If I belong to the day, then I should live like someone who desires the light of Christ. This light opposes things which belong to the darkness, and points toward things that emanate from the light: putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. The breastplate serves as protection for my heart, just as faith and love protect me from the darkness. The helmet reminds me of my identity; I am a child of God based on the hope of my salvation.

God does not delight when I suffer the effects of sin, for God did not appoint me to suffer eternal wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. If I wear the breastplate of faith and love, I am constantly reminded of God’s love for me, and I focus on living for Him. I rest in the fact that I can live with Him as my Savior here on earth (being awake), and when I die (being asleep), I will live with Him forever in heaven.

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS: I have one job to do: to focus on the living and love the eternal God every day. In moments when I get discouraged and lose sight of this focus, I become depressed because of my forgetfulness; I forget His love (the breastplate of faith) and my identity as His child (the helmet of salvation).

Therefore, in this one job I am appointed to of focusing on Him, I have another duty: to look out and encourage others to build them up, helping them to remember God’s love and their identity in Christ. If I do this, then I will be reminded of my focus and my duty. It’s safe to say that the circumstances and temptations of this world are enough to drag me away sometimes—to distract me to the point of losing my focus momentarily. It is important to recognize that this is a temporary lapse because my salvation is secure in the One who gave it to me. Lord, please help me keep my focus on You, and help me identify those who are discouraged today, so I can point them to You, then they can be lifted up.

May you be blessed,

Chaplain Wayne Ruckman