Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 74:1-9
Ps 74:1-9
1 Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember the people you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed--Mount Zion, where you dwelt. 3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. 4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. 5 They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. 6 They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. 7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name. 8 They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!" They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land. 9 We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.
Rom 1:16
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
As I read this portion of this Psalm, I was thinking about when our world crashes in all around us and we feel hopeless. Along this line, all of the terrible things that can happen to us came to my mind, diseases, accidents, family or relationship problems or even worse, when someone we love leaves the Lord.
I was reminded of a man who was raised by a godly mother but whose father was not a Christian and had a big drinking problem. By the time this man became an adult, his father had been converted to the Lord but the young man had turned away from God and had begun some of the habits his father had demonstrated to him. His life was a constant source of pain to both of his parents as they sought to be all God wanted them to be. And they never stopped praying for him.
After about forty years away from Jesus, this man (not young any longer) came back to the Lord and has remained faithful ever since. Never underestimate the power of God or his word. It pierced the hearts of sinners on Pentecost and it still convicts the hearts of people today. God is able to do immeasurably beyond all we ask or think! Not only can he change hearts but he can forgive them too!
Thank you, Lord, for your gospel revealed to us in your word and for the power it has to change the hearts and lives of those who are willing to come to you. Use me to live it in my life and then teach it to others around me. Thank you for those who are willing to go into foreign lands and preach but also for those who stay home and share your good news of Jesus. Thank you for godly parents who raise their children to love you and serve you. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
