Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 57:1-5
Ps 57:1-5
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah God sends his love and his faithfulness. I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts--men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
2 Cor 1:8-11
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
These words from Paul have gotten me through crisis and hard times in my past life. With each new emergency, loss, danger, trial, or disaster that life has given to me, God has given me the realization that he is with me and he will not forsake me or my family. When my dad died (I was 21 and he was old – 57!), I learned to trust God as my Father in a way I never realized before. When our baby left this world after only ten minutes, my dreams were destroyed, but she left me with a greater faith than I had before. Faith is trusting God when I cannot understand.
In many ways my family has lived a roller coaster ride. We have had many ups and a few huge drops that made us wonder if we would ever hit bottom! But when we stop and look back, what we see is the hand of Jesus always reaching out to us and ever sustaining us. We have truly been blessed in more ways than we know or realize! For sure, the greatest blessing we have is knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord, but also knowing him as our brother who is also our very best friend forever!
O Lord, thank you for always being with me and always giving me the strength to carry on, even in some very difficult times. I thank you and praise you for all of the good times that have filled most of my life. To paraphrase Job: you give and you take away, blessed be your name. Thank you for the difficult times that made me realize just how loving you are and how trusting you gives me strength. Give me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit, O Lord. Use me to help others who are hurting or struggling with hard times in their lives. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
