Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 67:1-7
Ps 67:1-7
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, Selah that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Selah May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Matt 5:3-10
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It is difficult for us to reconcile how we can be so devoted to God, putting our trust in him completely, and trying so hard to follow his will, and then something really bad happens to us. If serving God means that he is going to take care of us, then why do bad things happen to us when we are serving him? Why do good people suffer and at the same time, wicked people prosper? It seems a contradiction.
It happened to Abraham, it happened to Job, it happened to David, Elijah, Peter, and the list goes on. This means that our interpretation of what is good and what is bad may be wrong. Good is not equal to an easy life. Bad is not the same as things that are unpleasant or hard. In fact, ultimately, good is eternal life with God and bad is hell. This life is just our prep course to get us ready for eternity.
But God does promise to limit what the devil can do to us. He does say he will give us the strength to get through our trials. He does say he will be near, never leave us but will always be with us. This is why we are told to keep our eyes on Jesus and to keep looking for the things above where he is seated at God’s right hand.
O Lord God, please be with me as I go through this life. Give me wisdom to make the right choices, strength to endure what faces me and to do what is right. Give me greater faith so I will always trust you, especially when I do not and cannot understand all the reasons why things happen as they do. Use me to serve others and to help them serve you. Help me to be loving, kind, patient, and forgiving to all those around me, because I know that I get on the nerves of others and that I am not always easy to love. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus I pray.
Robert
