Devotional for August 10

The Way to Go

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Psalm 143:1-8 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Wisdom is the habit of consistently choosing what is best. For example, willingly giving up the right to eat donuts every day is a good choice if we want to be lean. There are hundreds of such small choices we make each day. They are the little foxes that spoil the grapes. Every choice follows the God given law of “as you sow, so shall you reap.” This one law is a key to the higher life, yet who among us is sufficient for the task? Relying on willpower alone is a failure trap that activates once enough fatigue has made us vulnerable. Godly wisdom teaches us a better way. Wisdom, just like redemption and restoration, are given by the grace of God and received by faith. Rely on our own limited human strength, and that is all we will have. A better choice is to humble self and trust God. Rely on Him to make us strong for all the little choices required for the higher life. This we can be sure He will do, because God is faithful to fulfill all His promises. (Psalm 92:1-2, 32:1-2; John 8:30-36, 10:10; Galatians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 10:23; Galatians 6:7; Proverbs 26:27, 27:12, 26:3; Psalm 32:9; Proverbs 3:4-8, 2:6; Song of Solomon 2:15; James 3:13-18; 2 Corinthians 3:5; James 1:2-8; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13; 1 Peter 5:6-11)