Day 252: Commendation

Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:1-18

Central Thought: God’s commendation is the only one that really matters.

In 1976, Nadia Comaneci, a 14-year-old Romanian gymnast, did something no one had ever done before. She received a perfect score in an Olympic gymnastics event. The judges in Montreal awarded her a perfect score of 10 not once, but seven times. This 4-foot 11-inch, 86-pound young woman captured the hearts of the world and is one of the few people to know what it is like to be ‘perfect.”

Most of us strive to be commended for what we do. We all desire recognition; we want to have the approval of others. Sometimes that desire for approval can lead us to do things we know are not right or not what is best for us. The desire for commendation is strong.

Ultimately, we must strive to be commended by God. Second Corinthians 10:18 reminds us that ‘it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” We must not measure ourselves against others or even our own expectations. We must present ourselves to God and ask Him to reveal to us anything about us that displeases Him. We need to pray Psalm 139:23-24: ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Devotional Prayer: Lord, may we live in such a way that we will be commended by You.

Today’s Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:1-2:22; 2 Corinthians 10:1-18; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 22:26-27