Devotional for November 22

Crowned with Your Goodness

9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. Psalm 65:9-14 (KJV)

Morning Exhortation

At what point does the yoke become easy and the burden light? At what point does one find rest for the soul? There must be a point when these things are so, or else we must call the Lord a liar. In the heart of every child of God, such a thought raises the shout “Let God be true and everything else be the liar!” Be still and know that God is! Like wrestling Jacob, only when striving ceases do we gain the victory. We work out our salvation by denying self and it’s illusion of control. Letting God be God. Only the weak are strengthened, only the broken are healed, only the burdened are comforted, and only those who are willing to fall down on their knees get lifted up by God. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of the Lord and He will lift you up spirit, soul, and body. The Scriptures are the God given manufacturer’s instructions for the maintenance and thriving of the total human being. Good health is the most basic resource that God gives us for doing the work He has called us to do. We must learn to be good stewards of this as well as all the other worldly wealth given to us by God. Not as owners for the benefit of self, but as stewards who desire to hear God say “well done good and faithful servant.”

Today’s Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 17; James 4

Jonah 1; Luke 6

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

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.