Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 88:13-18
Ps. 88:13-18
13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? 15 From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. 17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. 18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.
Phil. 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Most of us have pretty good lives. We are blessed with enough material things to be comfortable, we have family and friends who love us and want to help us do what is right. This is not true for everyone. There are those who are raised in abject poverty and faced with cruelty every day they awake. They live in societies that punish them if they seek to serve the Lord and are rejected by almost all who come in contact with them. They never even expect to have a good day.
How can they rejoice in the Lord? For what can they give thanks? I think of the poor beggar named Lazarus (in the story of Jesus) and am reminded that even in his poverty and pain, he trusted God to take care of him and when he died, he went to Abraham’s bosom. This is why Paul said that the worst we face in this life is not worthy to be compared to the glory of being at home with Jesus.
We need to be reminded of the wonderful blessings we enjoy every day. The top of our list should be the spiritual blessings we have in Jesus Christ. We have been forgiven of our sins and are now children of God. We have his promise that no matter what we face (short term or longer) he will not allow more to come upon us than we can handle with the power of his Spirit in us. Praise the Lord!
Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that you allowed me to be born into a family with parents who loved you and trusted you in all things. Thank you for the teaching they instilled in me in my youth. I am grateful for allowing me to be born in the time you placed me and in this nation that allows me the freedom to serve you without being persecuted for doing so. I know that I have failed to be all you want me to be in so many ways but I praise you and thank you for providing a way for me to be forgiven in Jesus Christ. In his name I praise you.
Robert
