OUR PRAYER AND GOD'S POWER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

OUR PRAYER AND GOD’S POWER

READ:  James 5:12-20

Pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective,

fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  James 5:16

When we pray for others, we become partners with God in His work of salvation, healing, comfort, and justice.  God can accomplish those things without us, but in His plan He gives us the privilege of being involved with Him through prayer.

When we intercede for a grandson in trouble, a mother having surgery, a neighbor who needs Christ, or a pastor who needs strength, we are asking God to provide for that person what we can’t provide. We are acting as go-betweens, asking God to direct His power in a specific direction.

In his classic book titled Prayer, Ole Hallesby described how it works:  “This power is so rich and so mobile that all we have to do when we pray is point to the person or thing to which we desire to have [God’s] power applied, and He, the Lord of this power, will direct the necessary power to the desired place.”

This assumes, of course, that we are praying “according to [God’s] will” (1 John 5:14).  Prayer is not a magic wand for satisfying our own wishes, but it’s an opportunity to work with the Lord in accomplishing His purposes.

James told us that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).  So let’s humbly and earnestly pray for one another.  DCE

As we attempt to live like Christ

In actions, words, and deeds,

We’ll follow His design for prayer

And pray for others’ needs. -DB

The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the 

Lord of the universe.   

WHO AM I?

Who Am I?

“I am who I am.”

Exodus 3:14

READ EXODUS 3:10–17

Dave enjoyed his job, but for a long time he’d sensed a pull toward something else. Now he was about to fulfill his dream and step into mission work. But strangely, he began to have serious doubts.

“I don’t deserve this,” he told a friend. “The mission board doesn’t know the real me. I’m not good enough.”

Dave has some pretty good company. Mention the name of Moses and we think of leadership, strength, and the Ten Commandments. We tend to forget that Moses fled to the desert after murdering a man. We lose sight of his forty years as a fugitive. We overlook his anger problem and his intense reluctance to say yes to God.

When God showed up with marching orders (Exodus 3:1-10), Moses played the I’m-not-good-enough card. He even got into a lengthy argument with God, asking Him: “Who am I?” (v. 11). Then God told Moses who He was: “I am who I am” (v. 14). It’s impossible for us to explain that mysterious name because our indescribable God is describing His eternal presence to Moses.

A sense of our own weaknesses is healthy. But if we use them as an excuse to keep God from using us, we insult Him. What we’re really saying is that God isn’t good enough.

The question isn’t Who am I? The question is Who is the I am?

By Tim Gustafson

REFLECT & PRAY

Eternal God, so often we doubt that You could ever use people like us. But You sent Your Son to die for the likes of us, so please forgive our doubts. Help us accept the challenges You bring our way.

When has thinking you’re not good enough kept you from serving God? How does it encourage you to look at Bible characters God used despite their flaws?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

When Moses asked “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11), God reassured him of His presence. “I will be with you” (v. 12) corresponds to the statement “I am who I am” (v. 14), which identifies God as an existing being. He expanded on this when He called Himself “The Lord” (v. 15), from the Hebrew Yěhovah, which means “self-existing.” Regardless of abilities Moses possessed, the self-existing Sustainer of the universe would be with him. Julie Schwab

WHY GOOD PEOPLE SUFFER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

WHY GOOD PEOPLE SUFFER

READ:  Job 1:6-22

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered

My servant Job?”  Job 1:8

My Sunday school class has been studying one book of the Bible each week.  Beginning with Genesis, we are looking at the theme, structure, and uniqueness of each book.  Little did I realize that two women in my class were eager to get to the book of Job.  They are nurses who daily confront the problem of human suffering, and they are often asked hard questions about God’s role in it.

All too often the explanation for suffering is similar to that expressed by Job’s three friends who came to sit with him.  One after another, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar told Job that he deserved the suffering because of his sin.  The young observer Elihu came along and told Job the same thing.

The real reason Job was suffering was that Satan, the leader of the fallen angels, was trying to get him to turn from God.  Because Satan cannot dethrone the Lord, he opposes Him by attacking His followers (1 Peter 5:8).  He strikes at God by tempting us to sin.

One reason for suffering, therefore, is that it’s part of a larger, cosmic struggle.  During hard times, we face the choice to trust God or to turn from Him.  If we endure suffering with our trust in the Lord unshaken, we will thwart Satan’s efforts and glorify our God.        DCE

How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,

I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;

How often, when trials like sea billows roll,

Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul. -Cushing

When your world is shaking run to the Rock.

"JUST THE OFFICE"?

“Just the Office”?

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.

Ephesians 1:18

READ EPHESIANS 1:15–23

I gazed out at the rolling, green hills in Lancashire in northern England, noticing the stone fences enclosing some sheep dotted around the hills. Puffy clouds moved across the bright sky, and I inhaled deeply, drinking in the sight. When I remarked about the beautiful scene to the woman working at the retreat center I was visiting, she said, “You know, I never used to notice it before our guests would point it out. We’ve lived here for years; and when we were farmers, this was just the office!”

We can easily miss the gift of what’s right in front of us, especially beauty that’s part of our everyday lives. We can also easily miss the beautiful ways God works in and around us daily. But believers in Jesus can ask God’s Spirit to open our spiritual eyes so we can understand how He’s at work, as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian believers. Paul yearned that God would give them the wisdom and revelation to know Him better (Ephesians 1:17). He prayed that their hearts would be enlightened so that they’d know God’s hope, promised future, and power (vv. 18-19).

God’s gift of the Spirit of Christ can awaken us to His work in us and through us. With Him, what may have once seemed like “just the office” can be understood as a place that displays His light and glory.

By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, shine Your light on me and open my eyes and my heart to better understand Your goodness and Your grace. I want to receive Your love.

Where do you see God at work around you? How does seeing the world through spiritual eyes help?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Paul’s prayer in the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians (vv. 15-23) works hand-in-hand with the prayer of the third chapter (3:14-21). Together they show what it takes to sense something of the astonishing, inexpressible, and expansive purposes, power, and love of God. Both prayers remind us that growing in the immeasurable love and boundless scope of God’s plans require more than our desire and capacity to believe (1:17-19; 3:14-21). Such “knowing” is a gift and evidence of the Holy Spirit who is with us and in us. Both prayers give us reason to consciously draw near to God. And both lead us into an understanding of what it takes to prayerfully counter the strategies of our spiritual enemy—by drawing near to and relying on the Spirit (1:15-17; 6:18). Mart DeHaan

HE ALWAYS ANSWERS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

HE ALWAYS ANSWERS

READ:  Daniel 9:3-23

While I was speaking in prayer, the man

Gabriel…reached me.  Daniel 9:21

Daniel was determined to pray regularly, and it got him thrown into the lion’s den (Daniel 6).  But have you ever noticed how God answered his prayers?

In Daniel 9, we learn that Daniel had been reading Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile of the Israelites was supposed to end after seventy years.  So Daniel prayed that God would not delay the end of the captivity.  He confessed Israel’s sin and asked for God’s intervention.

Then, while Daniel was still praying, God not only sent an answer but He also sent his angel Gabriel to deliver it.  Daniel said, “While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel,…being caused to fly swiftly, reach me” (v. 21).  In other words, before Daniel had even finished his prayer, God heard it and immediately sent Gabriel with the answer (vv. 22-23).

Yet, on another occasion when Daniel prayed, Scripture tells us that the messenger God sent with the answer took three weeks to arrive (10:12-13).

We can learn important lessons from Daniel about how God answer our prayers today.  Sometimes God sends the answer immediately.  Sometimes the answer is delayed.  Either day, He always answers. DB

It matters not what tongue we speak,

Nor where life’s pathway leads;

God hears the cries His children raise

And always meets our needs. -DJD

There are three possible answers to prayer:  Yes, No, or Wait.     

LIVE LIKE JESUS IS COMING

Live Like Jesus Is Coming

Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Matthew 25:13

READ MATTHEW 25:1–13

I’m inspired by country singer Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying.” In it he describes some of the exciting “bucket list” things a man did after receiving some bad news about his health. He also chose to love and forgive people more freely—speaking to them more tenderly. The song recommends that we live well, as if knowing our lives will end soon.

This song reminds us that our time is limited. It’s important for us to not put off for tomorrow what we can do today, because one day we’ll run out of tomorrows. This is particularly urgent for believers in Jesus, who believe that Jesus may return at any moment (perhaps in the very second you’re reading this sentence!). Jesus urges us to be ready, not living like the five “foolish” virgins who were caught unprepared when the bridegroom returned (Matthew 25:6-10).

But McGraw’s song doesn’t tell the whole story. We who love Jesus will never run out of tomorrows. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). Our life in Him never ends.

So don’t live like you’re dying. Because you’re not. Rather, live like Jesus is coming. Because He is!

By Mike Wittmer

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, I look forward to the day You’ll return. May I use the time I’ve been given to honor You and to serve others well.

How will you live today like Jesus is coming soon? How does knowing He could return any day affect your choices?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

What is the “kingdom of heaven” referred to in Matthew 25:1? This phrase occurs thirty-one times in the New Testament—only in Matthew. It’s first used by John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2). Just as these are the first recorded words of John when he begins his ministry, they’re also Christ’s first words after He initiates His own ministry (4:17). Most scholars consider this phrase another name for the kingdom of God. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines it as “the sovereign rule of God, initiated by Christ’s earthly ministry and to be consummated when ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ’ (Revelation 11:15).” Alyson Kieda

   

PERSISTENT PRAYER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

PERSISTENT PRAYER

READ:  Luke 18:1-8

Men always ought to pray and 

not lost heart.  Luke 18:1

A friend of mine has been a woman of prayer for many years.  She has received countless answers from God, but sometimes she is disheartened because certain prayers for loved ones remain unanswered.  Yet she keeps on praying, encouraged by the parable in Luke 18.  This story features a widow who badgered a heartless judge for help and finally got it.

Jesus ended His parable with a question:  If an unrighteous and disrespectful judge finally answers a pestering widow’s pleas for help, shall not God answer His own children who cry to Him day and night? (vv. 7-8).  The expected answer:  “Of course He will!”

George Muller (1805-1898), pastor and orphanage director, was known for his faith and persistent prayer.  Whenever he prayed for specific needs for his orphanage, God sent exactly what was required.  Yet for more than forty years he also prayed for the conversion of a friend and his friend’s son.  When Muller died, these men were still unconverted.  God answered those prayers, however, in His own time.  The friend was converted while attending Muller’s funeral, and the son a week later!

Do you have a special burden or request?  Keep on praying!  Trust your loving heavenly Father to answer according to His wisdom and timing.  God honors persistent prayer!     JY

Don’t think that you are finished,

Just trust God’s love and care;

Delays are not denials;

Persist in faith and prayer. -Jarvis

Failure to pray is the line of least persistence.

FAITH-STAND

Faith-Stand

Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.

John 19:40

READ JOHN 19:38–42

Desmond Doss enlisted to serve in World War II as a non-combatant. Though his religious beliefs prevented him from carrying a gun, Doss ably served as a combat medic. In one battle, he withstood intense and repeated enemy fire to pull seventy-five soldiers in his unit to safety after they had been injured. His story is told in the documentary The Conscientious Objector and dramatized in the film Hacksaw Ridge.

A roll call of the heroes of Christian faith includes such courageous characters as Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, and Paul. Yet there are some unsung heroes like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who risked their standing with the Jewish leaders to take Christ’s crucified body and give Him a decent burial (John 19:40-42). This was a bold move from a fearful, secret disciple of Jesus and another, Nicodemus, who had previously dared to visit Him only at night (vv. 38-39). Even more impressive is that they took their faith-stand before Jesus rose victorious from the grave. Why?

Perhaps the manner of Jesus’s death and the events that immediately followed (Matthew 27:50-54) crystallized the fledgling faith of these fearful followers. Maybe they learned to focus on who God is rather than what man could do to them. Whatever the inspiration, may we follow their example and exhibit courage to take risks of faith in our God—for others today.

By Remi Oyedele

REFLECT & PRAY

Courage [is] not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. Nelson Mandela

In what ways have you lived courageously for your faith in Jesus? What can you do differently that might show your faith to the world?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Jewish burial customs required that the dead be buried within twenty-four hours. Jewish law dictated that a crucified body must be taken down and not left exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22-23; John 19:31). Jesus would have been buried with the other two convicted criminals in a common grave if Joseph hadn’t asked Pilate for His body (John 19:38). Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy and influential leader of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish judicial body. He was a good and upright man who was waiting for the kingdom of God. Though he was a secret disciple of Jesus, he wasn’t afraid to disagree with the Sanhedrin’s decision to put the Savior to death (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50-52). Joseph places Christ’s body “in his own new tomb” (Matthew 27:60). That Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9. K. T. Sim

GOD'S TEARS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

GOD’S TEARS

READ:  John 11:28-37

Jesus wept.  John 11:35

In C. S. Lewis’s story The Magician’s Nephew, Digory recalled his terminally ill mother and how his hopes were all dying away.  With a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes, he blurted out to Aslan, the great lion who represents Christ, “Please, please-won’t you-can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?”

Then, in his despair, Digory looked up at Aslan’s face.  “Great shining tears stood in the Lion’s yes.  They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.  ‘My son, my son,’ said Aslan. ‘I know.  Grief is great.  Only you and I in this land know that yet.  Let us be good to one another.’”

I think of Jesus’s tears at Lazarus’s grave (John 11:35).  I believe He wept for Lazarus as well as for Mary and Martha and their grief.  Later, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44).  And He knows and shares our grief today.  But as He promised, we will see Him again in the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:3).  In heaven, our grief will end. “God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4).

Until then, know that God weeps with you.     DHR

He knows our burdens and our crosses,

Those things that hurt, our trials and losses,

He cares for every soul that cries,

God wipes the tears from weeping eyes. -Brandt

If you doubt that Jesus cares, remember His tears.

FALSE PLACES OF SAFETY

False Places of Safety

The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!

Mark 1:15

READ MARK 1:9–15

When our dog Rupert was a puppy, he was so afraid of going outside I’d have to drag him to the park. After getting him there one day, I foolishly let him off his leash. He sprinted home, back to his place of safety.

That experience reminded me of a man I met on a plane, who began apologizing to me as we taxied down the runway. “I’m going to get drunk on this flight,” he said. “It sounds like you don’t want to,” I replied. “I don’t,” he said, “but I always run back to the wine.” He got drunk, and the saddest part was watching his wife embrace him when he got off the plane, smell his breath, then push him away. Drink was his place of safety, but it was no safe place at all.

Jesus began His mission with the words, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). “Repent” means to reverse direction. The “kingdom of God” is His loving rule over our lives. Instead of running to places that entrap us, or being ruled by fears and addictions, Jesus says we can be ruled by God Himself, who lovingly leads us to new life and freedom.

Today Rupert runs to the park barking with joy. I pray the man on the plane finds that same joy and freedom, leaving behind his false place of safety.

By Sheridan Voysey

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, forgive me for running to anything but You in search of life and happiness. I turn away from those things now, and turn my life over to You. Lead me to real freedom.

What false place of safety do you run to in times of fear or stress? How will you leave it behind today and place yourself under God’s freeing rule?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? (Mark 1:9). Mark records that John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 4), and Matthew records that John baptized “with water for repentance” (3:11). Jesus was the only sinless person to walk the earth, so He wasn’t in need of repentance or forgiveness. Some have argued that Christ’s baptism was part of His identification with humanity in its sinful state. Others have said it was the inauguration of His ministry. Perhaps Jesus was identifying with us in His surrender to God and to the Father’s will. That’s what those confessing their sins were doing—surrendering to God—and in that vein, Jesus was doing the same thing. J.R. Hudberg

THE FOLLY OF WORRY

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE FOLLY OF WORRY

READ:  Matthew 6:25-34

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry

about its own thing.  Matthew 6:34

Ralph Easter had driven many times from Calgary, the foothills city of Alberta, to Banff, high in the Canadian Rockies. But it was his first trip that left an indelible impression on him.  He said that as the road wound westward from Calgary over rolling hills, there always loomed before him in the distance a range of snowcapped peaks that seemed to block the highway.  He recalls wondering how he would ever pass over such an insurmountable barrier, but he drove steadily on.

Finally as he reached the point where is had looked as if the road would stop, he came to a sharp bend and the highway stretched on as before.  Many such turns kept him progressing upward and forward until he came to the other side of the range.

As we travel the road of life, obstacles often loom up before us, filling us with apprehension.  Illness, surgery, financial reversal, or loss of a job threaten to keep us from reaching our goals.  But as we keep on by faith, God opens a new way before us.  Most of what we worry about never comes to pass.  But even when trouble comes, God is there to show us a new course.  We can avoid the folly of worry by trusting Him today for all our tomorrows.  RDH

Worry is a burden that God never meant for us to bear.

QUALIFIED IN GOD'S EYES

Qualified in God’s Eyes

[Noah] walked faithfully with God.

Genesis 6:9

READ GENESIS 6:9–18

A technology-consulting firm hired me after college although I couldn’t write a line of computer code and had very little business knowledge. During the interview process for my entry-level position, I learned that the company did not place high value on work experience. Instead, personal qualities such as the ability to solve problems creatively, exercise good judgment, and work well with a team were more important. The company assumed new workers could be taught the necessary skills as long as they were the kind of people the company was looking for.

Noah didn’t have the right resume for the job of constructing the ark—he wasn’t a boat builder or even a carpenter. Noah was a farmer, a man comfortable with dirt on his shirt and a plow in his hands. Yet as God decided how to deal with the evil in the world at that time, Noah stood out because “he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). God valued the teachableness of Noah’s heart—the strength to resist the corruption around him and to do what was right.

When opportunities to serve God come our way, we may not feel qualified for the work. Thankfully, God is not necessarily concerned with our skill set. He prizes our character, love for Him, and willingness to trust Him. When these qualities are being developed inside us by the Spirit, He can use us in big or small ways to accomplish His will on earth.

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

REFLECT & PRAY

Dear God, give me a heart that’s willing to serve You in any way. Equip me in the areas where I lack experience, and fill me with Your Spirit.

What character qualities do you need God to develop in you? Why is your character so important to God?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The words “he walked faithfully with God” describe Noah’s life (Genesis 6:9). The Hebrew word translated “walked faithfully” (some versions have “walked” nkjv, nasb) is used to describe one’s lifestyle or conduct. Twice it’s said of Enoch that he “walked faithfully with God” (5:22, 24). In Genesis 17:1, Abraham was commanded by God to “walk before me faithfully.” Interestingly, we find in Hebrews 11:5-8 that all three of these men—Enoch, Noah, and Abraham—are commended for their faith. Theirs was a genuine faith that compelled them to honor God by the way they lived. Arthur Jackson

FLYLEAF WISDOM

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

FLYLEAF WISDOM

READ:  2 SAMEUL 12:1-23

He who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall

surround him.  Psalm 32:10

All right, Mary, I confess.  While I was a guest at your home in Manila, I used your Bible one day for my devotions.  When I opened it, I saw these words written on the flyleaf:  Acknowledgment.  Acceptance.  Adjustment.

Those words express the steps that believers in Christ need to take when they receive bad news.  I see these actions illustrated in the life of David.

Acknowledgement.  When David was confronted by Nathan about his sin, he admitted his guilt (2 Samuel 12:13).  When we are feared with a problem, whether it’s the result of our sin or not, it’s futile to run from the truth.

Acceptance.  When his infant son died as punishment for his sin with Bathsheba, David accepted it as God’s will (vv. 19-23) and learned from it.  We too need to see difficulties as opportunities to trust God and to grown spiritually (James 1:2-4).

Adjustment.  David turned to the Lord for forgiveness and help, and he later wrote about what he had learned (Psalm 32).  For us, we may need to ask the Lord for the ability to make a lifestyle change or to take some specific actions.

Have you been hit hard by bad news??  These steps from Mary’s Bible can help you to handle it in a way that will please the Lord and result in good.   DCE

Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. -Berg

God takes us into HIs darkroom to develop or character.

A SHIELD AROUND ME

A Shield Around Me

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

Psalm 3:3

READ PSALM 3

Our church experienced an agonizing loss when Paul, our gifted worship minister, died at the age of thirty-one in a boating accident. Paul and his wife, DuRhonda, were no strangers to pain; they had buried several children who hadn’t made it to term. Now there would be another grave near the small graves of these little ones. The life-crushing crisis this family experienced hit those who loved them like a knockout blow to the head.

David was no stranger to personal and family crises. In Psalm 3, he found himself overwhelmed because of the rebellion of his son Absalom. Rather than stay and fight, he chose to flee his home and throne (2 Samuel 15:13-23). Though “many” considered him forsaken by God (Psalm 3:2), David knew better; he saw the Lord as his protector (v. 3), and he called upon Him accordingly (v. 4). And so did DuRhonda. In the midst of her grief, when hundreds had gathered to remember her husband, she raised her soft, tender voice in a song that expressed confidence in God.

When doctors’ reports are not encouraging, when financial pressures won’t ease up, when efforts to reconcile relationships fail, when death has left those we cherish in its wake—may we too be strengthened to say, “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high” (v. 3).

By Arthur Jackson

REFLECT & PRAY

Heavenly Father, help me to see that though life can be uncomfortable, I can find comfort in You.

How did you respond the last time you found yourself in an overwhelming situation? How does knowing God is a shield around you help?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The book of Psalms is Israel’s poetry and songbook that captures the human experience and emotions of the psalmists as they seek to trust God in the midst of life’s struggles and pains. Psalm 3 is the first of fourteen psalms that David wrote in response to a specific event (7; 18; 30; 34; 51; 52; 54; 56; 57; 59; 60; 63; 142). The superscription to Psalm 3—“When he fled from his son Absalom”—tells of David’s crisis when his son usurped the throne, forcing the king to flee because he’d be killed if he remained in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:13-14). Despite the danger and threat to his life, David was fully confident of God’s protection, deliverance, and sustenance: “I lie down and sleep. . . . I will not fear” (Psalm 3:5-6). David experienced the “perfect peace” promised in Isaiah 26:3 that comes through trusting God. K. T. Sim

AN UNTROUBLED HEART

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

AN UNTROUBLED HEART

READ:  John 13:31-14:1

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,

believe also in Me.  John 14:1

Noted British preacher J. H. Jowett believed that inner peace comes not from tranquil circumstances but from an untroubled heart.  He said:  “If we were to hear one hundred people repeating the sentence, ‘Let not your heart be trouble,’ we should find that ninety-nine of them put the emphasis upon the word troubled…I feel led to believe that the purposed emphasis is on the word heart…The heart is to be clothed in serene regality even when hell is knocking and rioting at its very gates.”

Jowett’s perceptive words caused me to wonder if I’m spending more energy trying to avoid difficulties than on letting them help me get to know Christ better.   If so, I’m headed for nothing but frustration and failure.

Jesus told His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). This was to prepare them for the dark day of His crucifixion.  He knew they could weather the storm only by trusting Him in spite of the apparent triumph of evil.

Todays, we can focus on the trouble in the world and in our lives, or we can focus on the victory we have in Christ because His death was followed by His resurrection. This wonderful fact gives new meaning to His word, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (16:33).   DCM

A troubled heart, a wearied mind

Are burdens hard to bear; 

A lack of peace, a heavy load

Are lifted by God’s care. -Fithugh

When we keep our mind on God, God gives us peace of mind.