In today’s Daily Devotional for July 31, Waking Up from Familiarity, we examine how to recover our awe in the middle of the everyday.
Waking Up from Familiarity – Daily Devotional for July 31
“‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary… And they took offense at him.’” (Matthew 13:54–57)
The Blindness of Habit
The people of Jesus’ hometown missed out on a miracle because they thought they had Him all figured out (Matthew 13:54–58). They looked at the carpenter’s son and saw only what was familiar, letting their assumptions lock the door to grace.
We do the exact same thing in our own spiritual journeys. We wrap ourselves in routine until the profound truths of God sound like background noise. We look at our spouses, our children, our coworkers, and even our daily trials with jaded eyes, convinced we know all there is to know about them.
When we lose our capacity for wonder, we stop expecting God to move in the real, gritty texture of our actual lives. We wait for grand, cinematic moments while missing the Divine knocking softly on our door in the middle of a mundane Tuesday.
Recovering our faith requires shaking off the dust of habit. It means approaching God’s Word, the people around us, and our daily circumstances with fresh eyes, asking the Holy Spirit to strip away our cynicism and awaken our awe once more.
Devotional for every day: Daily Devotional
Prayer for Today
Lord, forgive me for the ways I have grown numb to holy things and blind to Your presence in my everyday life. I confess that familiarity has dulled my wonder, and I often dismiss people or situations because I think I already know them. Wake me up from my routines, Lord. Help me to look past my assumptions and see the sacred moments You are placing right in front of me today. Restore my sense of awe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
To You
Where has habit or cynicism made you blind to God’s presence in your life lately? Can you look at a familiar person or routine today with fresh eyes, asking God to show you something new?
