Devotional for August 1

Blessed With Peace

29 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:1-11 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The peace in the eye of the storm comes from learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It is a skill like any other. It comes from within and requires lots of practice. Complaining against a wrong that can be made right is the correct thing to do, but the squeaky hinge that continues to squeak after being properly greased will be discarded all together. Excessive complaining trains us to want to avoid the difficulties of the way. There is a reason why every story needs a hero that goes through tough times and overcomes them. Discomfort rightly handled is often the way we are made fit for greater works. Complaining in such a case, what the elder’s called speaking against God, makes us like the stubborn horse or mule. See difficulties and discomforts in this light and you will find peace in the mist. Let whining, grumbling, and murmuring be far from you. However, if after we have received a prayed for blessing we allow the mediation of the heart and words of the mouth to echo only gripes and complaints, doing so will only make what is already difficult even harder to bear. (Acts 6:1-5; Psalm 32:9; Hebrews 11:32-40; Matthew 15:16-19; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Psalm 19:14; Ephesians 6:12-13; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Philippians 2:14; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 Timothy 6:8; Matthew 6:26-34; Hebrews 10:36; Philippians 4:4-9; 1 Peter 5:6-11).