Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 136:10-15
Ps 136:1-3, 10-15
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever…10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever. 11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. 12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever. 13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. 14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. 15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.
One of the many things I was compelled to memorize as a child was the listing of the ten plagues that God brought on Egypt to deliver his people from their bondage. As I would quote this list I could imagine some bloody water, the slimy frogs (as a small boy, I thought this one pretty neat), a hail storm like we have in north Alabama and sores on the cattle. None of this really meant a lot to me as a child but seemed more of a petty nuisance – no wonder it took Pharaoh so long to give in. As an adult I began to think about the destruction and ruin each of these must have brought on the nation of captors. God completely destroyed the spirit of the people and in the process he ruined their economy and eventually their army. An invading enemy could not have brought any greater devastation upon them. Pharaoh and Egypt were brought to their knees.
God has not lost his power to save his people today. No matter what we face in life, God is with us, hears our prayers and is ready to deliver us. When we face trials in our families, or health issues, or financial reverses or when we are treated unfairly, talked about or made fun of, we can rest in the power of God to deliver us, to hold us and sustain us. Even when we face the “Red Sea” in our lives and it seems there is no possible way, God will part the waters and make a way.
Even greater than this is our deliverance from the bondage of sin. He has already cleared the way for us. He gave his Son to die in our place and raised him to give us assurance of hope that we too will be raised. Just as Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God, we too will be raised to live and reign with him.
O God, my heavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness. I thank you that you care for me. Help me keep my head and my eyes upward and never lose sight of you, your blessings and the things that wait above. Even on my worst day, I have so much for which to be thankful and I praise you for it. I ask for strength to be what you want me to be. Give me wisdom and self-control to know what to say, what to do, what not to say and what to refrain from doing. Help me show others your way by the life I live. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
