Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 26:9-12
Ps 26:9-12
9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.
2 Cor 1:8-11a
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers.
No matter where we find ourselves, we can depend on God to be with us and to provide the needed strength to endure. There is no storm of life that is so big that he cannot calm it with a word. There is never a temptation we will face that does not have a way for us to overcome when we put our trust in him. When Paul was asking for his “thorn” to be taken away, God told him that his grace is always sufficient for the trial that is being faced.
We need to stand with God on level ground and join with the great assembly of God’s people. The church is no accident. God has given us the association with others of like faith so we can comfort each other, give strength to each other and encourage one another. It is in the church that we can study together and come closer to God both in our understanding and in practice of godliness.
It is often easy to make our closest companions those of the world instead of those who are seeking to serve God along with us. While we need to try to reach and share the gospel with those in the world, we need to make our constant companions those who will bring us closer to God and not lead us away. Paul so rightly said that bad company corrupts good morals.
Lord God, giver of life and creator of all things, I adore you and want to bring honor to your name. Keep me focused on you, on Jesus and on the things that are above. Help me ever rejoice in the abundant life you have given me here on earth but to remember this is not really my home. You have blessed me in so many ways that they cannot be counted and too often I take these for granted. Please forgive me for my ingratitude and help me be more thankful as I recognize you are the giver of all things. Thank you for helping me through so many storms in my life. Use me in your will as you see best. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
