Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 107:39-43
Ps 107:39-43
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; 40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. 41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. 42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths. 43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.
James 1:2-8
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Life is not always easy. It does not matter who we are, how well educated, how successful in our job, how nice our house or car or anything else about us; we all face problems in our lives. Along with these come many temptations to do that which is wrong or to leave undone those things we know we should be doing in our service to the Lord. The thing that we as Christians have that the world does not have is our faith in a loving and caring God who delivers us from all of our distresses. So with his wisdom from above, we deal with life.
God is in control. We make mistakes or we make plans that get changed but with God, there are no mistakes or changes beyond his control. We plan an outing and it rains or a vacation at the beach and a hurricane comes that week so we are not able to do what we intended to do. Sickness and accidents happen so life does not unfold as we had dreamed it to be. But with God, all of this is used for our good and to help us grow up into his love and his grace. He is able to use the worst catastrophe and make it a blessing if we trust him. He is God!
O Lord God, as I consider your great love and all you do for me, I am filled with joy and appreciation for you. Thank you for loving me and for making me a child in your family. It is so easy for me to become selfish and self-centered so I ask you to help me look to you and realize that all I am and all I have is from you. Use me to help others serve you. As I focus on you, on Jesus and on the things above, I see your majesty and greatness with an increased desire to be with you. I ask your blessings on the graduates this year as they move into a new phase of life. Keep them in your care and help them trust in you. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
