Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 106:6-12
Psalms 106:6-12
6 We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
One of the things we see in the Old Testament is how God used wicked nations and kings to carry out his purpose. When these kings became successful they would usually take the credit for themselves. They would boast of their wisdom, their military prowess and their power without knowing it was God who had given them the victories and made them who they were. He had done this to carry out his purpose; whether to punish his people or to punish those who had punished his people. God is in control; he was then and is now.
This makes us wonder how many times in our personal lives we have been successful or had blessings heaped on us and we thought it was because of how great we were or how well we were living in the will of God when in reality it was God using us to carry out his purpose apart from us. The point is that no matter how great we become, how much we accomplish or what we do, we must give God the glory and praise him for doing his will in us.
This is not to say we are not to put forth effort to succeed in life or to accomplish something worthwhile. God expects his people to exhibit a good work ethic and to try to better ourselves. He also expects us to give him the glory. James says that planning ahead is not wrong but leaving God out of our plans is foolish indeed because we don’t even know if we will be alive tomorrow. So in all we do, we should seek to honor God, honor his church and to bring others to him.
O God, my heavenly Father, I thank you for your blessings in my life. You have given me so much in so many ways but most of all you have given me so many friends who help me love you and serve you. I thank you for your church and ask that you help me as I serve you in it that I may lead others to you and encourage those who are seeking to serve you. Give me wisdom as I study your word to know how to live for you and then to be able to teach others. Forgive me when I fail to be all you want me to be. I ask a special prayer for those who are hurting and struggling with life’s problems. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord.
--Robert
