Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 56:5-8
Ps 56:5-8
All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life. On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll--are they not in your record?
Col 3:12-14
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Humility is knowing that we have the power to overcome the world but never having to prove it to anyone else. We have the Spirit of God living in us, so we can face any challenge but at the same time, we try to lift others up and tell them about Jesus. Jesus is deity, the exact representation of the Father but he sat on a rock and talked with the immoral Samaritan woman about her life and God.
Humility is not something we do. It must come from a heart of compassion and kindness because we have genuine love for others. Humility is recognizing that we are the children of God, the God who made us and all the world, while at the same time realizing this is possible because he has forgiven us. The same sacrifice that takes away our sin is also available to the most ungodly of people. This means that God loves each of them exactly the same as he loves each of his children.
It is this love, this compassion, and this humility that motivates us to be kind to others. Kindness requires that we be gentle in spirit and be patient with others. It is easy for us to forget about being kind when someone is treating us badly. Often it is because someone does not feel loved and they feel that others do not care about them that causes them to act unkindly toward us. What they need is for us to act like Jesus and show them his love in being kind and patient to them, and not making them feel that we think we are better than them. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
O Lord God, help me have the mind of Christ, his attitude toward others, his love for others and his patience toward even his enemies. Help me be willing to forgive anyone who seeks to harm me or do me wrong. Fill my heart with compassion so that I do not ever feel that I am above anyone else. Too often I see myself putting off things that I need to be doing in my life, so I need your Spirit to motivate me and push me to become all you want me to be. Thank you for your love and your patience shown to me by the life of Jesus on earth. In his name I pray.
Robert
