5 Day Devo

Advent Devotional: Questions, Gifts, and Grace

Day 1: The Power of a Question

Reading: Matthew 11:1-6

Devotional: John the Baptist, languishing in prison, asks Jesus a question that saves him from despair: "Are you the one?" This wasn't doubt destroying faith—it was faith reaching out for help. In our culture of certainty, where everyone claims to have all the answers, questions feel like weakness. But questions are actually the doorway to growth. When we ask God our hardest questions, we're admitting we don't have control, that we need Him, that we're willing to change. Your questions don't offend God; they invite Him in. What question do you need to bring to Jesus today? Open your hands, ask honestly, and wait for His answer. Questions are not the opposite of faith—they are faith in action.

Day 2: When God's Gifts Look Different

Reading: Isaiah 35:3-6

Devotional: Jesus responds to John's question not with philosophy but with evidence: the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised. Yet this wasn't what John expected. He proclaimed a Messiah of fire and judgment; Jesus came with mercy and healing. Sometimes God's gifts look like old brown towels when we wanted fluffy yellow ones. His answers don't match our expectations. A delayed opportunity. A humbling conversation. A person we must learn to love. But here's the truth: Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. Every gift He gives—even the uncomfortable ones—is designed to bring out the best in you. Don't return what God gives you. Hold it, examine it, let it transform you. His gifts are always better than our wishes.

Day 3: Blessed Are the Unoffended

Reading: Luke 7:18-23

Devotional: "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me," Jesus tells John's disciples. What a strange beatitude. We can be offended by God when He doesn't meet our timeline, doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, or allows our plans to unravel. John did everything right—he obeyed God, proclaimed truth, baptized the Messiah—and ended up in prison while Jesus ate with sinners. It seemed backward, unfair. Yet blessing comes not when life goes our way, but when we trust God's way even when it disappoints us. The unoffended heart is the trusting heart. It believes that God is good even when circumstances are hard, that His wisdom exceeds our understanding. Can you receive today as a gift from God's hand, even if it's not what you ordered?

Day 4: Repentance as Gift

Reading: Matthew 3:1-12

Devotional: John the Baptist preached repentance—not as punishment, but as preparation for something better. Repentance means turning around, changing direction, opening yourself to transformation. It's not about shame; it's about hope. When God gives you a gift that requires repentance—a rebuke you needed to hear, a character flaw exposed, a pattern that must break—He's not tearing you down. He's making room for something new. Repentance is the clearing away of dead branches so new growth can emerge. It's the demolition before reconstruction. The gifts Jesus gives often spin us around and point us in directions we didn't plan to go. But every redirection is an act of love. What might God be asking you to turn away from today? What new direction is He inviting you toward?

Day 5: Coming with Open Hands

Reading: Matthew 11:25-30

Devotional: "Come to me," Jesus invites, "all who are weary and burdened." Come with your questions. Come with your disappointments. Come with your brown towels and broken expectations. Come with open hands. At the Lord's Table, Jesus gives Himself—His body broken, His blood poured out—as both the giver and the gift. This is where our questions meet His answers, where our emptiness meets His fullness. You don't need to have it all figured out. You don't need to pretend everything is fine. You just need to come with hands open, willing to receive whatever He gives. His yoke is easy, His burden is light, not because life becomes simple, but because He carries it with you. This Advent, receive Jesus not as you wish He would be, but as He truly is: your Savior, your sustainer, your surprising and perfect gift.