Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 38:17-22
Ps 38:17-22
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. 19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies; those who hate me without reason are numerous. 20 Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I pursue what is good. 21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. 22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
James 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Serving God is all about trusting him and therefore, trusting his word. God cannot lie and he wants what is best for us. God loves us and has given his Son to die for our sin so we can live with him in eternity, in a place that has no pain, no sorrow and no sickness or death. When we submit to God by accepting Jesus as our Lord and have put Christ on in baptism, we have died to sin and we have been raised to walk a new life in him. Christ lives in us and we are his, children of God.
As we humble ourselves before the Lord we are at his mercy, to do his will and to be all he wants us to become. We are like clay in the hands of the potter, waiting to be molded into his likeness. This is faith because we do not know where he is leading us or what we may face in this new life, but what we do know is that he will always be with us in our journey. He is our Father and he loves us.
All of this sounds good, but in my life, it does not always translate into me being what God wants me to be and I say things I wish I had not said. In fact, the more I study the word of God, the more I realize just how much I fall short of his glory and how guilty I am of sin. What a terrible person I am! But I am so thankful to God that in Jesus Christ I am not being held accountable for this sin because it is being forgiven by his blood. By grace, through faith, I am a child of God, made new to practice good works which God has always wanted me to do.
O Lord God, my heavenly Father, I am so weak and imperfect but I am trying to be more like you every day. As I study your word, give me wisdom to know and to understand how to put it into practice and give me strength to overcome each trail. As I continue to grow closer to you, help me show your love, your kindness, and your compassion toward others in all I do and all I say. As I grow in your grace by accepting your forgiveness, let me be more forgiving toward any who have done me wrong. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus my Savior and Lord.
Robert
