| | | AUGUST | 8 | FRIDAY
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| A Mouth Ready to Confess
One believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
— Romans 10:10
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| READ: Romans 10:5-15
REFLECT: Soon after my son was born, I found myself struggling with question after question. Why won’t he sleep? Why is he crying? How do I know what he needs? I desperately needed some answers.
Then a friend called and patiently guided me, helping me set a schedule that would allow me to meet my baby’s needs with confidence. Her insights, based on a book she had read, had transformed her, and she was happy to share her wisdom. The ideas also transformed my family and me. As a result, I too wanted to share them with other new moms.
It didn’t take long, however, before my double standard became apparent to me: I was so ready to “witness” about this baby schedule I had found, yet I was hesitant to witness to the life-changing work of God in my life.
God’s Word was in my heart, but somehow I skipped over the parts about being “near you, on your lips” (v. 8) and about “confess[ing] with your lips” (v. 9) and “confess[ing] with the mouth”
(v. 10). And to underscore this oral component of faith, Paul goes on to ask, “How are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (v. 14).
In this world many people are buried under self-doubt and desperately seeking answers to real-life struggles. Will they hear how God can give them the answers? Will someone tell them?
— Jennifer Esbenshade
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| RESPOND: Lord, let me be the one to confess your healing grace to the hurting. Let me be your feet that bring good news. Send me, God.
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