Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 34:15-22
Ps 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
2 Cor 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
We all have our share of problems in life. Most of us get down and out at times and we suffer from at least mild depression. We are brokenhearted or we feel crushed in our spirit. Even Jesus had a broken heart at times. But we serve the God of all comfort and he will fill us with his comfort when we need it. There is no depression so deep that the comfort of God cannot reach and heal it. There is no heart so broken that he cannot heal it and make us whole again.
Jesus told Peter that he would deny him but that after he did, he was to go and strengthen his brothers. Jesus knew that the best person to help someone else with their doubts and their depression is one who has been through it. Paul says we are to share the comfort we get from God with those others who need it. The love of God, the compassion and comfort of God and his grace are all given to us so that we can share them with others. This helps them and honors God.
This means that the answer to our question of why this is happening to me, may be so that we are equipped to help someone else who needs the compassion and the comfort that God has to give. What a wonderful and wise God we serve!
O Lord God use me to help someone today who is struggling, who is hurting or who has a heart filled with fear or doubt. Help me remember that you are at work in my life to use everything that happens for my good but also for the good of others around me. Thank you for the comfort you have given me so many times when I was down and out and when I wanted to just give up on life. Thank you for the joy and peace that only you can give. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
