Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 52:6-9
Ps 52:6-9
6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!" 8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.
James 5:1-5
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
There is nothing wrong with being rich. God has blessed some very faithful people with great wealth while he has withheld it from others. Job and Abraham were both mentioned as being very wealthy and both are held up as examples of faith for us to follow. What is a blessing for some is a curse for others and it is up to us to decide how we view it and use it. We must put our trust in God and never in the treasures of this earth which will perish with using.
Jesus said that those who are faithful in small things will be faithful with great things. When we demonstrate our ability and desire to use what God has given us to help others and to glorify him, he is more likely to give us more to use. Even then, God does not see things as we see them so what we may consider a great blessing could be the greatest curse possible if it were ours. God knows best and provides accordingly. We know whom we have believed so we trust him.
Jesus, who was rich, gave up his wealth to become poor so that we might become rich in him. What are we giving him in return?
Lord God, I thank you for what you have given me. I know that wealth is relative and what seems like a small amount to some would be great riches to others. Let me never bemoan what I don’t have but always be thankful for what you have given me. Open my eyes to see and my heart to respond to how I am to use what you have provided so that your name is glorified. Give me a heart of compassion and take away all greed and selfishness from me. Even more than all this, help me see the spiritual blessing I have in Christ. I thank you and pray in his name.
Robert
