“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:24)
The devout soul rejoices in God as his great Inheritance. When He is always present to our mind, when we are constantly making use of Him, when we find ourselves naturally turning to Him through the hours of the day, then such quiet peace and rest settle down upon us that we cannot be moved by any anxiety of the present or future.
Excerpt from”Our Daily Walk” devotional by FB Meyer
Besides, God is able to make every blessing of yours overflow for you, so that in every situation you will always have all you need for any good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Because of GRACE I am…
CHOSEN
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (Romans 11:5)
CALLED
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, (Galatians 1:15)
CONFIDENT
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
REDEEMED
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:24)
RIGHTEOUS
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
REWARDED
to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)
SAVED
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)
SANCTIFIED
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, (Galatians 1:15)
SECURE
“I am now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 ISV)
God’s grace is ever present, sufficient to meet our every need. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”. (2 Peter 1:2)
My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law. (Psalms 119:136)
It’s a known fact, we women love to cry and will use pretty much any opportunity to do so. When our husband remembers our anniversary, we cry – and when he doesn’t. We cry when our child is born, when she starts school, and when she graduates – not to mention all the events in between. We cry when we get news, both good and bad. Tears can be a wonderful thing, a balm for our wounded hearts.
Tears can be a wonderful thing, a balm for our wounded hearts.
We look around and we see the mess this world is in. Every day the news reports on some unspeakable act of violence, we are surrounded by fear and anger. We all have concern as to what the future holds for ourselves and our children. Many of us are tearful over the uncertainty we face.
If we take an honest look at what’s going on in the world, it’s not hard to see the true source of our pain, it is the failure of people to keep God’s laws. As a nation and as individuals we have allowed sin to seep into our lives without much resistance. We have been too quick to turn a blind eye as evil has gained more and more ground. If there were ever a time to follow the lead of the Psalmist and shed tears over the violation of God’s laws, now would be that time.
So, cry on sisters. Continue to indulge in the soothing that comes from tears. But, may I suggest that when your spirit is troubled and you feel like your world is upside down, your greatest comfort may come crying out to God, shedding streams of tears out of sorrow over the failure of people to keep His laws. I am confident that if we do so, God will hear our cry and bring healing and comfort to His daughters.
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to end out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)
Folks who have a green thumb have always impressed me. I have such warm memories of my grandmother Bivens who each summer had a bountiful vegetable garden. She would put the green beans and tomatoes into Mason jars to carry her through the winter months; and oh those pickles she made! Grandmother Lingerfelt amazed us at how she would take just a sliver of a plant and grow a beautiful new specimen. In my yard is a cutting of a cutting of a cutting from one of her hydrangea bushes. It is very special to me.
My husband has the gift of gardening as do both of my sisters. Sadly, I don’t have the gift but I do like to think about it –what it must feel like to prepare the soil, put the seed or young plant into the hole that’s been dug and then carefully cover it with cool, rich dirt. I think of how the gardener tends the garden and, when the season comes, his excitement of seeing the fruit of his labor!
With the coming of spring farmers have begun preparing their fields. Seeing the freshly tilled soil reminds me of another kind of gardening; that those of us who belong to the Lord have been given to do. Planting this garden doesn’t require a green thumb, only willingness, commitment and obedience.
We’ve been given all the tools we need. We turn the rocky soil of a wounded heart with the tiller of compassion. The seeds are sown with words of kindness. We make way for the tender sprouts of new life by pulling the weeds of bitterness with acts of love and grace. We water with words of hope, prune with encouragement and keep away the insects that destroy the tender plants with our prayers.
And when we’ve done all, the harvest comes and the Lord of the harvest is well pleased.
“There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God (1 Samuel 2:2) Rock of Ages by Augustus M. Toplady
Even when we may feel like we are all alone, remember that God is always by our side and will never abandon us. He is truly our light in the dark and our rock that we can stand upon always. What an amazing feeling to be loved by such a kind Father and to give praise to His name with the beautiful hymn ‘Rock Of Ages.’
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unknown, And behold Thee on Thy throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.
But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him. (Psalms 37:39-40)
Psalm 37 closes with a messenger of hope and assurance.
Throughout the Psalm we have seen how God deals with the wicked people and things of this life. We have learned that He will, in His own time, in His own way, deliver perfect justice. As difficult as it is for us to understand, He has His reasons, His purpose for delaying, but we can rest assured, that day will come!
Here in these final verses, we have God’s promise; the wicked may seem to have the upper hand, but that is only an illusion. There is no trouble, there is no evil that is greater than the power of God. Jesus proved that 2,000 years on a hill called Calvary. He sealed the victory once and for all when He broke the seal and came out of a borrowed tomb. He delivered up the hope of eternity when He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
Remember these things on those days when doubts try to crowd the hope out of your mind. When you need renewed assurance, go to the Psalms. Go to the Gospels. Go to Romans 8, Philippians 4, Ephesians3:16, 1 Peter 3:18; go to God’s word. G
Go to Jesus. In humble prayer. Call out to Him, If you let Him, He will remove all your fears and doubts. He will deliver you from all your troubles. He will see you through.
I can think of no better way to end this series of devotions than with the words of the Apostle whom Jesus loved:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. (John 3:16)
I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off. (Psalms 37:35-38)
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We are just a few days past the Easter season. Each year it is during this season that those who believe in Christ give special attention to Christ’s passion. We reflect on the supreme sacrifice He made to redeem us from our sin and restore us to peace with God. The season concludes with Resurrection Sunday and our thoughts of sorrow turn to rejoicing as we observe and celebrate the glory of Christ’s victory over sin and death. HE IS ALIVE!
As I read the Psalmist words in today’s passage, I can’t help but wonder if the Lord gave David a look into his redemptive future. Certainly all that is written here, from the destruction of the wicked to the posterity of the blameless, points to Jesus’s completed work at Calvary; some 1,000 years in the future for David, more than 2,000 years in history for us.
In his first epistle Peter tells us we can cast all our anxiety on Jesus, because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). In his commentary on this verse, John MacArthur writes:
“Casting” means “to throw something on something,” as to throw a blanket on a donkey. Christians are to cast all of their discontent, discouragement, despair, and suffering on the Lord, and trust him for knowing what he’s doing with their lives. Along with submission (1 Pet. 5:5) and humility (vv. 5–6), trust in God is the third attitude necessary for victorious Christian living.
Now for the big question. Do we believe? Do we believe that what Christ has done is sufficient? Do we believe that He is able to carry our discontentment, our discouragement, our despair, our suffering?
Yes? Then we must ask ourselves, “do I live like I believe”? “Does my walk match my talk”? When we are going through trials, what do others see in us? What do we see in ourselves? Do our lives reflect peace or anxiety?
The “Easter Season” has passed. But what was accomplished is not for a season, it is for eternity. Jesus paid it all, as the old hymn goes. He paid it all – for all our days, for all who would believe, for all generations.
“Lord, help us to put our trust in You. Teach us to walk in faith, not for our own posterity but so that Your glorious name will be magnified. So that others will see and believe”.
Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. (Psalms 37:34)
Oh no! Not that word “wait” again.
We find it often in the scriptures. Time and time again the Lord tells us to wait on Him.
He knew from the beginning how hard it would be for us, that we would want to run ahead of Him. He knew we would want to do life in our own way, in our own time.
He knew we would fail because our way is the wrong way, it is the way that leads to disappointment and ultimately, destruction.
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12)
We live in a fast-paced world. Most everything these days is “instant”. We can get instant food, instant credit, and instant answers. There are quickie marriages and quickie divorces. We have fast food, fast service, and we run on the fast track. We’re moving along at break-neck speed to the point that we often have no idea where we’re going, nor do we even care, just so we get there fast. And yet, it seems the faster life gets, the faster we demand it to be. We just don’t want to wait for anything, not even for God.
There is an old proverb that says “good things come to those who wait”. That’s what God is telling us through the words of the Psalmist. His word is telling us to wait for Him, He will give us good things. When we’re down, wait on Him and He will lift us up. When we don’t know what to do, wait on Him, He will guide us. When wicked people come against us, just wait on Him and He will set all things right.
Yes, He knew waiting would be hard for us. Because He knew, and because He loves us so much, He came. He came to show us the way, He came to be the Way. The right way. The true way. The way that leads to life.
Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand Or let him be condemned when he is judged. (Psalms 37:32-33)
Have you ever been through a season where everything is just “too hard”? You think “maybe tomorrow it will get easier”, but it doesn’t. You try your best to pull yourself up, but no matter how hard you try, the trials never seem to end.
I ask this question as if there is a question at all, but the fact is, at some point in time, we all experience such a season. It could even be you are going through one right now.
Because of sin the world is broken and a broken world produces broken lives. In our troubled times the enemy will bring doubts, he will whisper lies, he will throw accusations; he will use every available weapon to hold you down. That’s how he works.
In John 16:33 Jesus spoke: “In the world you have tribulation”. But He didn’t stop there, He continued, “but take courage; I have overcome the world.” And, He preceded that promise by saying “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace”.
Whether your testing season has been in the past, is in the present, or is yet to be, you have this promise – the Lord is with you and He will not leave you. He will not leave you, He will not allow you to be condemned. You can put your trust in Him with the full assurance that He will deliver you from the hand of your enemy.
Written by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895). She was the wife of a bishop in Northern Ireland, and along with her sister, she founded a school for the deaf. Of the four hundred hymns she wrote, a number were focused on instructing children in the faith. For Easter she wrote “There Is a Green Hill Far Away,” in which she explains that only Christ could pay the price of sin.
There is a green hill far away, Outside a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all.
Refrain O dearly, dearly, has He loved, And we must love Him, too, And trust in His redeeming blood, And try His works to do.
We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains He had to bear; But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there.
He died that we might be forgiv’n, He died to make us good, That we might go at last to Heav’n, Saved by His precious blood.
There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin; He only could unlock the gate Of heaven and let us in.
O dearly, dearly has He loved, And we must love Him, too, And trust in His redeeming blood, And try His works to do.
Sandra Bivens Smith 