Daily Devotional for Friday, April 24

The Prophecy by Jesus

“And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation,” Luke 19:44.

I may have shared this previously in another devotional, but both of my children were born blind because of a genetic disease that has no cure. They are both brilliant young people and have learned to use their other senses in incredible ways. Their hearing is heightened not because it is inherently better than others but because they have exercised it by relying on it more than the average person. One year the grandparents, who were living in Canada, came to visit us unexpectedly for Christmas. Grandma wanted to surprise the grandchildren, so we came up with a plan. Grandma arrived on Christmas Eve, and we let her in, unknown to the children. We then called our children into the living room, and they sat on the couch. Grandma then came in quietly and stood in front of them and whispered very quietly, “I love you, I miss you. I am praying for you.” They immediately knew who she was and screamed with joy. That Christmas visit was very joyful and memorable.

Like Jerusalem, in the text for today, many Christians today do not have their spiritual ears exercised and do not hear the voice of the Lord when he comes to them on the day of their visitation. This makes Jesus very sad, to say the least. There are real consequences for missing the things God has for us.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Make sure that you are not failing to recognize and respond to God’s presence or opportunities for blessing in your life.

Jonathon D. Smith