Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 102:1-11
Ps 102:1-11
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. 3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. 4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. 5 Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. 6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. 8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. 9 For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears 10 because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. 11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
2 Cor 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
There are times in life when it seems that everything has fallen apart and the sky has crushed down upon us. We all have our times of tragedy and we all face times when we are down and out. Most people have, at least, temporary bouts of depression and loneliness. What or who we hold so dear is taken from us and we begin to feel that life is not worth living. How do we deal with this?
For some there is a need for professional help and medication to get through it all. Whether this is required or not, we can all turn to God and put our trust in him, with the assurance that he will take care of us. The more we can focus our minds on him and the more we can truly turn loose and allow him control, the sooner we will find peace and happiness in our lives. He has promised to lift us up when we fall and he will sustain us when we faint. What will make it worse is self-pity, worry, and trying to fix it on our own. We can never lift ourselves out of the mud by our own bootstraps. But God can put us on the solid rock in Jesus Christ.
O Lord help me when I am down and out. There are days that I just want to crawl in a hole and cover myself up with dirt so I do not have to see anyone or talk to anyone. There are times that it seems I am all alone in the world and there is no one who understands or even cares. Yet, in my heart, I know this is not right and I know that there are lots of people who do care and who love me and want to help me. Even more importantly, I know you care and you love me. Use me to help lift up others from their distress and depression. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
