July 13

Tell Jesus

Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. — Mark 6:30 BSB

That’s exactly what we should always do after we’ve tried to serve the Lord. We should do the best we can, then go and tell Him what we’ve done. At the end of each day, we should go to Him and share everything we did or tried to do that day. We should tell Him how we lived, how we did our work, how we handled temptations, how we treated our friends and those we interacted with, how we fulfilled our role as His servants, what words we spoke for Him, what efforts we made to do good or offer comfort or help, and how we responded to calls for sympathy and aid.

We must not forget to tell Him about our failures. Did we lose patience? Did we give in to temptation? Did we neglect to speak up for the Lord when we should have? Were we unkind to anyone? We should also tell Him about our efforts that seemed to come to nothing. Often we’re like the disciples who worked all night and caught nothing. Many days we come to the end, tired and disappointed, with empty hands. Sometimes we’re tempted to stay away from the Master and give no report because we feel we have nothing to report—just a fruitless day. But that’s exactly when we need to come to Him the most. Jesus had days in His own life that seemed fruitless, so He understands our sadness when we feel we have no harvest to show.

Let us tell Him everything. That’s the kind of honest evening prayer that blesses us. It will keep us watchful throughout the day if we remember that we’ll need to report to Jesus all that we’ve said, done, or failed to do. It will also draw us closer to Him. His understanding and compassion will strengthen us for better service each day.