Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 137:1-9
Ps 137:1-9
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us--he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Rev 6:9-11
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
Why does God allow this to happen to me? When will these problems end? How am I supposed to handle all of my trials? Why do they hate me? These are all questions we have asked at one time or another. Why do the wicked flourish when I am trying to serve the Lord and all these things happen to me?
Why did God allow Herod to kill James? Why was Stephen allowed to be stoned to death? Why was Paul allowed to be beaten? Was God watching? Did he not answer prayers that they be delivered? Yes, God was there, he did hear and he did answer all the prayers that were offered. He called his children home and he taught others some valuable lessons in their trials. We suffer but, in our suffering, we learn how to really trust God. In our pain, we learn peace from above. These all teach us how to rejoice in trials as we come to know what really matters in life; not the here and now, but eternity with our Lord Jesus and God our Father.
Thank you, Lord, for all you do for me, both the good and things that I do not like or understand. I know that as you use me in your will, there will be times and things that I do not know why things have to be as they are. Increase my faith in you. When I face a mountain that seems insurmountable, give me wisdom and strength to climb one step at a time until I reach the summit. Give your peace to those who are struggling today. Guide our nation. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
