Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 116:15-19
Psalms 116:15-19
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. 16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. 17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the LORD--in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.
I have heard verse 15 used many times in funeral services but notice it is actually in the middle of the context of the Psalmist pleading for God to save his life. He was not wanting to die or looking forward to it. This is natural for several reasons even though we may have full confidence in our eternal destiny. We have never died before and so it is going into the unknown – that is scary. We usually don’t want to leave the ones we love and for sure we don’t want to leave them in grief, sorrow and anguish. But it is indeed a homecoming for God’s children.
So we are to live each day with thanksgiving for what we have and what God has allowed us to become. We are to use all we have (whether very little, very much or somewhere in between) for our own pleasure, to help others as we have the opportunity and most of all to bring honor and glory to God. There is nothing wrong with having material possession or enjoying them as long as we remember they are from God and in his control.
We must fulfill our vows to God. As the children of God we have made vows to him about our lives and that includes all we are and all we have as well as what we are seeking to become or seeking to obtain. We cannot allow our pursuit of the things of this world to control us or become our god. We are told to not love this world or the things of this world because they will all pass away. This world is not our home, we are just passing through while preparing for an eternal home with God. Our goal is to become more like him and thus honor him in all we do. So he is our life and we are not our own. Praise the Lord.
It is with a heart of thanksgiving that I come to you today, O God. It is also with a heart of humility because I know I fail so often in so many ways to be like you in what I do and what I am. I need you every hour of every day to mold me, prod me and remind me to live for you and not for myself. I thank you for my conscience and ask you to help me train it in such a way as to never be at ease with sin. Use me to show others how to live for you with boldness and confidence in your word but with humility in regard to my attainment. Help me use my time more wisely and to spend more time with your word and in prayer. Continue to forgive me when I fail to live up to your glory. I pray in the name of Jesus.
--Robert
116:15-19
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. 16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. 17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the LORD--in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.
I have heard verse 15 used many times in funeral services but notice it is actually in the middle of the context of the Psalmist pleading for God to save his life. He was not wanting to die or looking forward to it. This is natural for several reasons even though we may have full confidence in our eternal destiny. We have never died before and so it is going into the unknown – that is scary. We usually don’t want to leave the ones we love and for sure we don’t want to leave them in grief, sorrow and anguish. But it is indeed a homecoming for God’s children.
So we are to live each day with thanksgiving for what we have and what God has allowed us to become. We are to use all we have (whether very little, very much or somewhere in between) for our own pleasure, to help others as we have the opportunity and most of all to bring honor and glory to God. There is nothing wrong with having material possession or enjoying them as long as we remember they are from God and in his control.
We must fulfill our vows to God. As the children of God we have made vows to him about our lives and that includes all we are and all we have as well as what we are seeking to become or seeking to obtain. We cannot allow our pursuit of the things of this world to control us or become our god. We are told to not love this world or the things of this world because they will all pass away. This world is not our home, we are just passing through while preparing for an eternal home with God. Our goal is to become more like him and thus honor him in all we do. So he is our life and we are not our own. Praise the Lord.
It is with a heart of thanksgiving that I come to you today, O God. It is also with a heart of humility because I know I fail so often in so many ways to be like you in what I do and what I am. I need you every hour of every day to mold me, prod me and remind me to live for you and not for myself. I thank you for my conscience and ask you to help me train it in such a way as to never be at ease with sin. Use me to show others how to live for you with boldness and confidence in your word but with humility in regard to my attainment. Help me use my time more wisely and to spend more time with your word and in prayer. Continue to forgive me when I fail to live up to your glory. I pray in the name of Jesus.
--Robert
