Summer of Depth Devotional Day 17

Welcome to Day 17 of our Summer of Depth Devotional and Reading Plan.

Some people are easy to love.

Others carry stories that are messy, complicated, and difficult to understand. Before you begin reading today, ask God to help you see people the way He sees them. Pray for eyes that look beyond first impressions and a heart that refuses to write people off too quickly.

Now, let's dive deep into His Word.

Before anything else, slow down and read: Mark 5:1–20.

Slow down for a moment and imagine being one of the disciples as the boat reaches the shore.

This isn't the place anyone wants to be. We can imagine a man who comes running from the tombs, shouting, bruised, isolated, and completely out of control. Everyone in the region knows who he is. They've tried to restrain him. They've learned to keep their distance. Somewhere along the way, he stopped being known as a person and became known as the problem.

Jesus sees something deeper…and entirely different.

Think about what Jesus just did. He calmed a storm, crossed an entire lake, and stepped onto shore...for one man. One man that everyone else had given up on. That's how valuable he was to Jesus.

So, as each of round out the middle of our weeks, consider this: Maybe that's one of the things hurry quietly steals from us.

When life moves too fast, it's easy to reduce people to what they're struggling with. The difficult coworker. The demanding neighbor. The family member who's always creating drama. Hurry has a way of making people look like interruptions instead of people with stories. Before long, we stop seeing the image of God beneath the pain.

Jesus never does.

He isn't in a hurry to move past people. He sees them the way they were created to be, not only as they appear in their brokenness. As we continue slowing down this summer, maybe one of the greatest things God wants to restore isn't just our pace. It's our ability to truly see the people He's placed in front of us.

Practice:

Think of someone you've found difficult to love lately.

Before you see them, or even if you don't today, pause for a moment and pray:

"Jesus, help me see this person the way You do."

Then ask Him to show you one small way you can reflect His compassion today.