Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 108:10-13
Ps 108:10-13
Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
Rom 8:35-37
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
There is a big difference in winning a battle and winning the war. From a human perspective (and that is all we really have), we may feel like we are losing battles because so many things go wrong. At times it seems that the more we serve Jesus as Lord, the more problems we must face. But Jesus said we should be happy when we face various trials, because this is what the prophets of old had to face also. Paul counted it an honor to be counted worthy of suffering with Jesus.
Think about Job. He served God. He trusted God. He lived his whole life for the Lord and taught his children to do the same. God blessed him. He was one of the most respected people of his day. He was the wealthiest man in the east. All of this was because of his faithfulness to the Lord and being blessed for it. Life was good for Job. This is what we want to see (and often, what we expect) in our lives.
But then came Satan and the trouble began. Job lost his entire family, except his wife. Job lost all his livestock. Then when he was still faithful to God and lifted his voice in praise, Satan hit him with boils from his head to the bottom of his feet. Job was in horrible pain. Job was not only sick, but he had a painful disease that made him look putrid to those who saw him. Job lost it all, but still praised God.
God did not forsake him. God was with him and in the end, God blessed him again with material things. But even more, he is remembered through the ages as a man of faith and patience, even in the face of the worst that can happen. Be like Job.
O Lord God, I know that I have never faced anything like what Job faced in his life, but I know that you have always been with me in my trials. You have provided for me when I could not see any possible way. You have healed me and my loved ones when it seemed there was no hope. You gave me friends when it seemed the whole world had turned against me. In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in times of plenty and in hard times, you have always been with me, and you have provided me with just what I needed. Thank you in Jesus name.
Robert
