Live Your Blessing February 1, 2026 Devotional

GENESIS 6:5 | ⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of humans was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.

God loves freedom. He loves it because He is love and love cannot exist without freedom. Yet as Rev. Dave Peterson points out in his book, Receiving and Giving, human beings misuse their freedom. Genesis portrays this dilemma in stark and poignant ways. On the first few pages Adam and Eve misuse their freedom and begin to doubt God and hide from His presence. One of their sons murders his brother. Just 143 verses in "the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was evil continually." The world is reset with the Great Flood and the emergence of Noah's family and within a few paragraphs there is the mess of the Tower of Babel. After 273 verses we have the Fall, the Flood, and the Tower. What a mess!

Think of three contemporary events that illustrate our misuse of freedom.

Gracious God,

Freedom is a great gift You have given us. I am sorry I have misused it so often, choosing to live in ways that diminish my life and the lives of others. Forgive me and guide my path going forward. In Jesus name.

Amen.