Plugged In or Running on Empty
Plugged into a true source, not running on empty.
Devotional Credit Day by Day by Grace, Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit Unsplash
We live every day at a fork in the road, trust in people or trust in the Lord. Jeremiah 17 paints the contrast in bold colors. Lean on human strength, yours or others, and life dries out. Lean on the Lord, and blessing meets you in ordinary places. Bob Hoekstra’s reflection helps us see how practical this choice is, not abstract, because we face it at the kitchen table, in the car, and during hard conversations.
The first path looks sensible. We collect strategies, polish our image, and power through with grit. Yet Scripture says that route quietly turns the heart away from the Lord. The result is not vibrant living, but a withered kind of survival. Busy, yet barren. Loud, yet empty.
The second path is trust in the Lord. This is not passivity. It is a living dependence on Jesus who indwells us by the Spirit. Here, hope is not a mood swing, it is a Person who keeps His word. We stop trying to manufacture life and begin receiving life.
Today is not about shaming the struggler. It is about showing a fellow traveler where the real fountain is. Thank you, Pastor Hoekstra, for pointing us back to Jesus. By grace, we choose the blessed path, trusting the Lord in the details that make up this very day.
Journal Entry, Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am the Lord who knows your frame and I am the One who gives you life. When you lean on human sufficiency, your heart slips from confidence in Me and dryness follows. I have joined you to My Son, so that His life is your life. You were crucified with Him, and now you live, yet it is Christ in you who is your sure strength.
Set your mind on the things above where your life is hidden with Me. Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to Me in Jesus. Walk in Me as you received Me, with ongoing trust and simple dependence. I work within you to will and to do what pleases Me. Your adequacy is not from yourself, it is from Me.
There is no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus. My Spirit dwells in you, leading you, renewing you, bearing fruit through you. Continue in Me. Root yourself in My promises. I supply everything needed for life and godliness. I am faithful, and I will complete what I began in you. Rest in Me, and act in step with Me, for I equip you with every good thing to do My will.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of your phone at five percent battery. You can dim the screen, close apps, and fuss with settings, but the real answer is to plug into a reliable outlet. Trying to run the day on your own is like toggling low power mode. You can stretch a little farther, but the drain continues. Trust in the Lord is the simple act of connecting to the only true source, then the battery climbs while you go about what is in front of you.
Try this today. When a decision lands on your desk or a conversation grows tense, pause for one quiet sentence of surrender, then proceed. Say, Lord, I trust You to express Your wisdom and steady peace through me in this moment, I yield my words and actions to You. Then make the call, send the message, or step into the room, confident that Jesus living in you is enough for what is next.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I already have every spiritual blessing. Thank You that Your Spirit lives in me, guiding my steps and shaping my responses. I agree with You that my adequacy is from You. I receive the day as a gift and I walk in the grace that is already mine in Christ. I rest in Your faithfulness and I act from union with Your Son. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Jeremiah 17:5 to 8; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6 to 11; Colossians 3:1 to 3; Colossians 2:6 to 7; Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:1 to 6; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; Hebrews 13:20 to 21; 2 Peter 1:3; John 15:5; Psalm 1:1 to 3; Proverbs 3:5 to 6