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This is the daily devotion from the book, “Holding On and Letting Go” and the companion audio from the July 19, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

Here is day eleven with an important reminder to hold on to the righteousness you have in Christ and allow it to define your actions.

Hold On To Righteousness

“I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.”
(Job 27:6)

Have you ever had someone ask you to do something that you knew wasn’t right?  How did you respond?  Does your response differ based on how doing so would benefit you?  Why?  How important is righteousness to you?  Why?  How important is righteousness to God?  How will holding on to righteousness in the midst of your chaos give you hope as you look toward the future?

Disaster and chaos can bring out the best in people and it can bring out the worst.  There will always be those who try to take advantage of the hurting and there will often be temptations to take “shortcuts” to recovery.  God’s desire is that we would hold on to righteousness for His Name’s sake.  How we deal with the disasters we face, and how we deal with people during those disasters, will say much to a watching world about the God we claim to serve.  When we hold on to righteousness, we do everything above board and we treat all people openly and fairly.  When I think of disaster and chaos in the Bible there are many examples, but perhaps none as extreme as the story of Job.  Even while lacking the “backstory” that we have regarding the source of the disasters he faced, Job knew that holding on to the righteousness of God was his only hope for the future.  When we hold on to a righteousness that is ours through Jesus Christ, we find that our current disaster doesn’t have to define us or define how we treat others.  It is in the righteousness of Christ that we have hope that extends beyond any chaos that we are experiencing today.

As you pray, ask God to help you to always see and do the things which are right.  Pray that your mind would not be clouded by the fog of chaos as you make decisions each day.  Pray that you would not only know the right things to do, but that you would do them.  Pray that the eternal reward of holding on to righteousness would fill you with hope today.

In prayer,
Tom