Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 102:8-17
Ps 102:8-17
All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
Rom 5:6
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
When is the right time for the help we need? When is the right time for a loved one to be healed? When is the right time for God to deliver us from some form of abuse or for him to stop those who are maligning us? When is the right time? For us, the answer to all of these would be yesterday! We want God to take away our problems, our sickness, our pain, or suffering, or whatever it is that we are praying about. If we didn’t feel we needed relief, we would not be praying about it.
The Psalmist had this same idea. Israel was suffering and they had put their trust in God to deliver them and to help them. But there was no answer. God did not seem to hear them, or at least he was not responding to their prayer. But the time was not right, and it is God who sets the timing, not us.
As a parent (and grandparent) there were times that I let my son or grandson deal with their own problems and resolve their own dilemma. It was not because I did not care. It was to allow them to think and to learn to deal with life, to grow up mentally and emotionally. It was for their good. God has promised to use all things that happen to us, for our good. Just like a child does not always understand how being left alone is for their good, we may not understand. God knows best.
O Lord God, what a blessing to know that you always know what is best for me and that you always use what happens to me for my good. Increase my faith. Lord, it grieves me to see the wickedness all around us in our country. It is distressing to see leaders who are so corrupt and media who promote and push all kinds of sin, wickedness and ungodliness. Help me do what I can to influence those with whom I come in contact to want to live for you. Give us leaders who respect you and your word so your people can live in peace. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
