Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 70:1-5
Ps 70:1-5
1 Hasten, O God, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. 2 May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" turn back because of their shame. 4 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!" 5 Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
Phil 1:8-11
8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.
Fix in your minds the idea of being put in jail, in a third-world country and this for telling others about the love of Jesus and the grace of God. Think of a country that does not recognize what we call basic human rights. This is probably what Paul was facing when he penned the words above. Some have said he was being kept in a dungeon without sufficient food or water. But he was not complaining.
His prayer was for the Philippians and their progress in serving God. Even those teachers who were preaching Christ but with a motive to make things worse for him, Paul was rejoicing that Christ was preached. No matter where he was or what his circumstances, he was motivated by his zeal for God and his love for other disciples. He prayed at midnight while in the Philippian jail and now he was praying for the Philippians while in prison in another city. He had no self-pity.
We all have trouble and we need to pray about it. It often helps when we have a dear friend with whom we can share our problems. But there is a difference in admitting and expressing our plight and being filled with self-pity. When we trust God and really believe he will answer our prayers, we can rejoice in the Lord always with thanksgiving! Jesus is our Savior, our Redeemer and our Lord!
O Lord God it is such a joy to know that you care about me. It is a relief beyond words to know that you have forgiven my sin and have made me your child. Fill my heart with your Spirit, with your love and peace. Use me where you want me to be used in the way you know best for your glory. Lord, like everyone else, I do have my problems and pains. Keep me from dwelling on these and help me keep focused on Jesus and on the coming day of my new home in glory. Be with those who are sick and those who are home-bound. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
