Devotional for November 20

The Lord Hears

15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Psalm 34:15-20 (KJV)

Morning Exhortation

Feelings come and go like the wind. Faith resides in the will, not the emotions. Attention is the key. If we focus our attention on what we are feeling, our thoughts will be brought into harmony with our feelings. We are ruled by our feelings in such cases. This is what the Bible calls walking by sight. If we shift our attention and thoughts to God instead, our feelings will harmonize with our attention and naturally fall in line. Faith is, and indeed needs to be, completely independent of feelings. Heavenly feelings are truly a great blessing from God, but we are still commanded to have faith and not to rely on our feeling regardless of whether they are supportive or unsupportive. Feelings that support faith and feelings that negate faith will both come and go. Feelings contrary to faith are always based on the brain’s subjective assessment of what is going on, and every single one of us learns sooner or later just how wrong our own interpretations can be. This is why the Bible clearly states that he who trusts in his own heart is a fool. Whereas faith is always based on the infallible truth of God. God alone is completely dependable and trustworthy. Trust in God is one of the first necessary works of faith. Trust is completely incompatible with worry just as praying in the Spirit is incompatible with walking in the flesh. Today is the acceptable year of the Lord, and our ultimate salvation is closer today than it was yesterday. Guarding the heart by setting our will is our responsibility. Have faith in God. Not because of the way we feel, but because of the truth we know about Him.

Today’s Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 15; James 2

Amos 9; Luke 4

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant me so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that I may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.