Today's Devotion
“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:1–4 Praising the Lord at all times can feel easy in seasons of joy, but much harder in moments of pain. There are times in life when circumstances don’t make sense. When expectations fall apart, when loss feels overwhelming, or when questions arise that don’t…
“…Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42 When God’s Will is Different from Our Will This coming week commemorates the loss of one of my spiritual mentors. Sister Ann, a very influential woman in my life, was diagnosed with an invasive cancer. Prayer about the healing for her body consumed my prayers and I went on extended fasts and memorized every scripture I could find that said the word ‘heal.’ I had dreams of God miraculously healing her spine, eradicating every cell of cancer in her body, leading me to believe they were prophetic. However, on January…
“Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:1–3). “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Meekness in a Proud…
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Genesis 27:19 Jacob’s Are Everywhere If you look around, you will discover that there are Jacob’s everywhere. He was a normal, average young person—and—a momma’s boy. His ambitious quality is soon outranked by his deceptive nature. When he first started to pursue God, it was out of necessity and not out of faithfulness. He was running for his life and needed God to move on his behalf. When he…
Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” David wrote from his experience, giving us insight into the way a shepherd looked after his sheep. He cared for their every need. In this verse, he is talking about the yearly trip to higher ground to find new pasture for the flock. They would pass through rough places, face dangers, but the shepherd was watching over them every step of the way. His rod and staff would…
