Daily Devotion (April 1, 2024)
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
“With all your heart.” We are God’s creation. God designed us to be totally dependent upon Him. Our confidence and trust are not in the creation of God but in God Himself. Trust does not come from the head but from the heart. Trust is not the result of reasoning but believing. Paul writes in Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” It is not that Abraham just believed in God He believed God.
1 Peter 1:3–6 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.
Life is difficult. Problems arise. Relationships suffer. People get sick. People die. We live in a world God never intended for us to exist in. We have choices the same as Adam and Eve had. They chose wrongly. The right choice is God.
We suffer today because, well, it is inevitable. It comes from living. We grow older, our bodies wear down. There is the loss of loved ones through death or just because of the course of life. What was a reality yesterday may not be true in life today.
There is only one solid rock upon which we can depend upon. That rock is Jesus. As time changes, as relationships move apart the one, we can truly depend upon is Jesus. We must remember this world is not our home.
Some years ago, Jim Reeves sang this song, “This World is Not My Home.” Christians, true Christians understand this. “We are just a-passing through, our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”
Persecution does not always come from some evil nefarious enemy. It may come from the person looking back at us through the mirror. Maybe we need to ask when we pray, are we praying for God’s will to be done in our lives.
Suffering comes from wanting what we want instead of what God wants for us.
Sometimes suffering comes upon us to teach us to trust in God and God alone.
Proverbs 3:5–6
5 Trust in the LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Pain is not necessarily our enemy…sometimes it turns us in the right direction.