Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 42:1-6
Ps 42:1-6
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
“Where is your God?” When Peter was walking on the water, he took his eyes off of Jesus and he began looking at the huge waves coming all around him, and he started sinking. Later, when he was warming himself by the fire, among the accusers of the Lord, he took his eyes off of Jesus and denied him three times. Then when he looked up, he saw the Lord looking at him. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we, like Peter, will sink in the things around us and deny our Lord.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them to pray about everything, but to not worry about anything. He then told them how they could do this. It is because the Lord is near. Jesus explained the same thing in his mountain sermon when he told how God clothes the flowers and feeds the birds, neither of which is nearly as important as we are to the Father. We simply put our trust in God – look to him.
This is why we are told to “fix” our eyes on Jesus and “set” our minds on things above, where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God on our behalf. We must stay focused on the Lord because he is always near to us. When we don’t see him, it is not because he has left us, it is because we have closed our eyes to him or we are distracted by the “waves” of this world all around us. “Where is your God?”
O Lord my God, I know you are near to me as I feel your presence in my heart and in my life. What a wonderful feeling to be able to hold the hand of Jesus as I walk with him each day! While I may not see you with my physical eye, I see Jesus plainly by faith and feel him near to me. Thank you for loving me. Use me to show your love to others, to lead them to Jesus, and to encourage them to see you in their lives. Give your healing to those who are battling disease. Give your peace to those who are hurting, confused, grieving, filled with doubt, or have lost sight of Jesus and the things above. I humbly pray in his blessed name.
Robert
