If You But Trust in God to Guide You, ELW 769
Devotion
I must admit my heart is often more than restless. I am restless and unsettled because I am yet not content. And there are good things not to be content with. Parishioners struggle with lack of healthcare or adequate and sustainable livelihoods. Racism and prejudice prevent people from living fully. Brokenness and sin tear relationships apart.
Contentment in God is not a failure to recognize these concerns. Rather, it is a sense of peace in understanding that God is still faithful and that our restlessness should direct us to a sense of God's presence and leads us to care of our neighbor. However, too often our restlessness is simply about our own wants and desires. Our lack of contentment comes out of a sense we are missing something, not someone.
What is your heart "restless" for? How can you find peace for that restless heart in the one God? In the midst of that peace, how can you still be upset when our neighbor is hungry or in need, since you know all we have is given through God's undeserving grace.
Prayer
God of peace, there is so much pain in this world that our hearts should be far from content and settled. Encourage us to be content in what you have provided for us so that we can be restless for justice for our neighbors. In your ever present Word, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.