Devotional for May 4

Truly My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone

62 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psalm 62:1-8 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

To live out the gospel in the world, we must first be diligent about allowing the gospel to live within us. Weak thoughts don’t build strong bodies, nor do wrong thoughts produce right actions. From the Lord comes wisdom, strength, and every good gift. Hear us when we cry O Lord, for apart from thee we have no good thing. Accept the perfect love of our heavenly Father with child-like trust. Without the love of God in our hearts, we are weighed in the balances and found to be less than nothing. Sin cannot be overcome by self-will. Sin can only be conquered with the Cross. By faith we are dead to sin and made alive to God through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Times of testing must come, yet God is. Learn to rest in this unchangeable fact. In the mist of everything, always and forever, God is all knowing, all powerful, and all good. And He does not change. Be still and know that our God reigns.

Question

What are we to do if we don’t feel like a sweet psalmist of Israel?

Answer

Feelings are like the tide in that they both are sometimes high and sometimes low. Our hope must not be anchored to the good feelings of high tide, or else our hope will also fall with the bad feelings of low tide. Rather than what we feel or see, we are commanded to anchor our hope steadfastly to faith in God (Mark 11:22; Hebrews 10:38; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13). Good feelings are sure to come, but they should never be made necessary for faith (1 Peter 1:7). Tough times and bad feelings are sure to come as well (James 1:2-4). We are to bear them without complaining (Philippians 2:14-16). Understand, and let the seas roar however they will (Hebrews 11:1-3, 6). High tide, low tide, it matters not (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

I thank you, heavenly Father, that you have delivered me from the dominion of sin and death and brought me into the kingdom of your Son; and I pray that, as by his death he has recalled me to life, so by his love he may raise me to eternal joys; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. from the Book of Common Prayer