Devotional for February 18

Give Thanks

10 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Psalm 51:11-14 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Be quick to eliminate worry, hurry, and fear  by the exercise of your faith. God is able work out all things for good for those who love Him. God certainly doesn’t approve of everything in this corrupt world of ours, but whatever He allows to happen He weaves into His divine plan for our salvation (Romans 8:28). There is liberty in that profound truth for all who can accept it. The fact that life seems to be getting more complicated every day hardly needs to be stated. The great robber of our peace comes from worrying about the multitude of things we cannot possibly control. We surely grieve the Holy Spirit with our discontentment caused by unbelief. Rather than worry, fret, murmur, fear, or be discouraged, pray for the needed grace to hold onto the one needful thing of trusting God. Visualize worry and fear rolling off your mind like water off the back of a duck. Otherwise, worry becomes a burden that makes us too heavy to fly and too tired to swim. Enter into the rest of the Lord by faith. Let your one desire be for Christ to dwell in your heart, and He will take care of all the multitude of other needful things. Things are just tools in the hands of God. Don’t give glory to the axe, the saw, or the rod. They are just tools. Give glory to our God who swings, cuts, and shakes them all (Psalm 62:11; Isaiah 10:15; 1 Chronicles 16:28-34; Psalm 29:2, 46:10; 1 John 5:21). 

Today’s Bible Reading

Exodus 1; Luke 4

Job 18; 1 Corinthians 5

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept my prayers; and because in my weakness I can do nothing good without you, give me the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments I may please you in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. The Book of Common Prayer