Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 12:1-4
Ps 12:1-4
1 Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. 2 Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue 4 that says, "We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips--who is our master?"
Heb 4:12-14
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
It is so easy for us to be overcome with self-pity but nothing can be much more destructive than this. As we battle the evil around us, we begin to think that we are the only one who cares about doing right. In our minds we are all alone until we even doubt if God sees or notices our plight. If only we had a friend who cared or someone to lend us support!
The good news is that we do have such a friend; Jesus is our friend, our brother and our high priest who stands before the Father on our behalf. He sees all and he cares because he has been tempted in all points, even as we are facing now. We have the Spirit of God who knows our thoughts as we pour them out to God and who intercedes on our behalf with words we want to say but just don’t seem to know how to express. We have the promise that nothing is hidden from the sight of God. We have not been left alone after all!
In fact, we are told we have a great cloud of witnesses who are pulling for us to be faithful. We just need to trust God and in his might lay aside the sin that trips us up so easily as we run his race. The book of Hebrews is filled with exhortations for us to be faithful in the face of discouragements and hardships as well as constant assurance that we are not left alone in this world.
Father, God in heaven, as I get caught up with the things on earth, it is easy for me to get discouraged and to think I am the only one left who even cares about you and what is right. Thank you for putting so many friends in my life who love you and who are a constant encouragement to me. Keep me from dwelling on my problems and feeling sorry for myself and instead help me keep my eyes focused on Jesus. Help me study your word more so I will keep my mind on the things that are wholesome, right, pure and lovely. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
