SOAP: there can be only one

S - Deuteronomy 4:35, 40
To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him . . . Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

O - All that God did for the Israelites was to secure their devotion. While this devotion was to secure the name and goodness of God himself, it also produced the blessing of healthy families, long life, and secure hope.

A - I began today discouraged by circumstances that I could not control. It would be my tendency to try to piece together a plan on my own that would smooth over, cover, or ignore the affects of these circumstances. I think this is the kind of thing God is talking about when he doesn't want the Israelites to form figures and idols as their gods. These false gods are tangible and physically present, but there is no substance to them or their affect. My plans have the same characteristics. They can be tangible, physically present, but they lack the substance to really deal with the problem in a lasting and healing. I hear Jesus calling me to trust that he is right. His presence and work, while mysterious to me at times, has goodness, security, and joy as a lasting result. My family, my days, and my future are secure in the hands of the one and only God.

P - Lord help me not turn to my own plans. Instead may there be only one plan but to submit to you and seek your voice. Help me trust your revealed word and work it out in daily life. May the promise of your love, peace, and joy be my security. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken. - Psalm 16:8