Recent Devotions
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2 One of the hardest things to accept as I grow older is the fact that I no longer have the same strength to do things that I once had. Simple household tasks take longer than they used to. I need to sit down and rest more often. Each morning, I find myself asking the Lord to give me the strength I need for whatever the day…
“But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:3 The Dictionary describes a shield as “a piece of metal or other material, carried to protect the front of the body when being attacked, or a person or thing that…
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61:2-3 When I was fifteen, I was attending…
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“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10. Being still is difficult for me because I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything. Being still in the presence of God can feel like a waste of time, it sounds terrible to say, but it is true for me. We are people of action and so it can be a foreign practice to just sit at His feet and worship in His presence. I don’t know how many times I have acted like Martha, clinking dishes…
For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. (Psalm 18:39, ESV) What do we do when the enemy comes at us full force? What kind of battle plan do we make when things look bleak and we are outnumbered? In II Chronicles 20, the enemies of Judah aligned themselves against King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. The Israelites were greatly outnumbered, and the outlook was grim. What Jehoshaphat did next cannot be found in any military manual. What he did required bold faith. He did not call for…
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.” Genesis 29:35. In the above scripture we read that Leah gives birth to Judah, her last child, whose name means praise. Leah’s story is wrought with pain. She was never part of Jacob’s plan. On the long awaited day of his betrothal to Rachel, his future father-in-law schemed a plan to have his eldest daughter marry Jacob. Tables turned and the deceiver became the deceived. The morning after the wedding, Jacob unveiled his wife and…
“And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock… and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.” 2 Samuel 21:10 There is grief that is so deep that it refuses to be hidden. Rizpah’s grief refused to remain silent. In 2 Samuel 21, a famine plagued Israel for three years. When King David sought the Lord, he discovered the cause: Saul had broken covenant with the Gibeonites, and the land was reaping the consequence of his unfaithfulness. Though Saul…
