Devotional for July 27

Trust In the Lord

37 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Psalm 37:1-7, 23-24 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The body is magnificently efficient and its only priority is to ensure its survival. The self must learn to work with the body, otherwise it will struggle against the body and lose. This is why so many people fail to lose weight, because the body doesn’t care what we want. It only reacts to what we do. Working with the body to lose weight requires denying the animal like desire of the flesh to eat an overabundance of sugar, fat, and salt. Do this, and over time the body will react by getting leaner. Don’t do this, and in time the body will only get fatter. Either way we consistently go, the body always reacts with ruthless efficiency. How then can we overcome this natural desire to eat all easy to get, very cheap, and super delicious things that we want? God spoke the answer more than 2,000 years ago for all who are willing to come to the light. Our Lord and God commands us, “deny self, pick up your cross, and follow me.” Self-denial is not as much about giving something up as it is about gaining the opportunity to have something better. Denying self is the turning away from lessor things for the purpose of achieving something greater. The “picking up of our cross” is the way. It is the dying to the bondage to the desires of the flesh, and becoming alive with spiritual affections set on the things above. Hard to describe, but easy to do if we just follow Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. (Psalm 69:22; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Colossians 3:2; Luke 9:23; Luke 6:46; Romans 7:24, 8:3-13; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:11-14; Hebrews 11:6; Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 14:23; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 5:6-11)

Read, lift your heart to God, and pray.