I want to apologize for the abrubt interuption of the devotionals. I was on vacation last week and due to lack of proper planning on my part, did not have internet access where we were staying.

11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

“Keep your tongue from evil.” This sounds easy enough but James tells us that if a man can bridle his tongue in all he says, that man is perfect. And then he adds that none of us does this completely and the tongue is a deadly poison, full of all kinds of wickedness. Jesus explains why this is so difficult when he tells us that what comes from the mouth is what is in the heart. Now that hurts when we really ponder it. This means that when we learn to really control our hearts we control our tongues. Jesus left us the example of this in his life. Even when being mistreated, lied about, abused and scorned, not one word of evil or threatening or deceit came from his lips. Jesus said that the Father’s will was his own and thus his speech was right, all the time.

The Lord is always mindful of the righteous, that is, those who are his own. When we belong to God thru his Son we are constantly in his care. He is close to those who are brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. What a blessing this is for us. So often we get down and out and we feel this is justified because of the circumstances we face. We become despondent and just want to crawl in a hole and give up on life. It is in these moments that we must look to God and know that he hears our cry for help. He is with us and will tenderly take us thru these valleys of despair. He will shelter us from the storms of life and deliver us from all evil. But we must put our trust in him. This is why he is called the “God of all comfort”.

O God, please deliver me from evil. Help me to open my heart so that you can fill me with your Spirit. Increase my faith so I can trust you when my faith is weak. Help me to align my will with yours so that my heart will be like yours. Make my life a window thru which others will see you and your Son, Jesus Christ. I ask a special blessing this morning for those who are hurting and who need your special care this day. I pray in Jesus name.

May God’s blessings be on each of us as we live for him.