Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 56:1-6
Ps 56:1-6
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. 2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride. 3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? 5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. 6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.
2 Tim 1:10-12
11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Paul not only preached about laying up treasures in heaven but he lived his life with this in mind. He really believed that all the persecutions and troubles he faced each day were nothing compared to the glory of what was to be revealed and what he would enjoy. So when he said he walked by faith and not by sight, he really meant it. He trusted God to take care of him and do what was best for him.
Do we trust God? Do live by faith in Jesus Christ? When we say that we believe, we have faith, we trust “but”, are we not saying we have our doubts? We are told to pray without doubting. We are told to believe in the Lord Jesus. Peter saw the waves coming at him and he began to doubt and also began to sink.
Put yourself in the place of Job and really look at the things that happened to him in the first part of the book. Each one was bad – horrible – but then something else happened that was even worse. Losing a child is unthinkable but he lost all of his children. Losing some of our investments is bad but he lost it all. After this, he lost his health also. But he never wavered in his faith or accused God falsely.
We can live today with the absolute, complete and solid assurance that God will take care of us and will see us through our problems. By faith we can reach out and take the hand of Jesus as he walks along beside us. He may not take away my pain but he has promised something enough better to make it worthwhile.
O Lord you know I have no friend like you. If heaven is not my home, then Lord, what will I do? Help me never feel at home in this world but to keep my eyes on heaven and on Jesus. Help me study your word more and have wisdom to know what you want me to become. Give me a yielding heart to be conformed to your image so I can show Jesus to all those around me. Since I continually need your forgiveness, keep me from judging or criticizing others. I need your help to have greater self-control, patience and kindness. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
