Daily Devotional - 8/5/10 ( 9/5/09)

Focus Letter - E


Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for beginning with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic beginning with the focus letter that you would like to see you and your family grow in


Dear Lord, open my ears to Your voice and grant me the strength to obey


Psalm 5


"In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation." (vs. 3)

In the morning God should hear our voice. In the morning, we should come with our requests. It is so important to pray and meet with God in the morning. I must pray for my needs. I must make this a priority. God is waiting to meet me. Where am I? Am I still in bed when the Creator of the Universe waits? If He was my boss, would I be there and be on time? Probably. Would I blow him off and sleep in? Probably not.

I need God. I need this time to get ready for the day. He has never failed to provide me with the time and the energy for the day when I have made the time to be with Him for awhile. Even if I have gotten up very early and am really tired, I have still been able to accomplish what I need to and do well if I have set my heart on Him, even for a few moments.

Then, after I have gotten up and made my requests, had my prayers, listened to God's voice, I am not supposed to just forget what I prayed for. I am to wait in expectation! I am to be confident I will receive an answer. I need to be looking for it in everything I do and everything that happens that day.

Have you ever waited for an important letter to come, or maybe a check? Every day you check the mailbox eagerly, running out as soon as the mail truck comes by. I imagine I should be like this with God; excited, and waiting eagerly for the answer to come, focused on how He will provide. It will add a sense of mystery and fun to our days, looking for that answer, that message from God. Where will it be? How will it look? I hope I don't miss it.

"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;with You the wicked cannot dwell...But I, by Your great mercy, will come into Your house; in reverence will I bow down toward Your holy temple."
(vs. 4 & 7)

Next, I need to focus on how God feels about evil and sin. He hates it. He hates arrogance. He hates wrongdoing. He hates lies. This is frightening because I know I do a lot of things wrong. I see these things in myself so very often. How can I stand before God when I fail so frequently? By myself, I cannot, but because of God's great mercy, I can. I can even come into His house and worship. His grace and mercy makes me feel so grateful. It allows me to have the reverence towards Him that I need because I know that I do not deserve to be close to Him, not now or in the past. I have never been good enough, nor will I ever be. It is a lost cause, but how amazing it is, I am not a lost cause.

"But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.  For surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." (vs. 11-12)

I can even be glad in spite of my sin and myself. I am not supposed to go around moping and feeling sorry for myself. I am to be rejoicing. I can sing for joy because I have taken refuge in God and in His merciful forgiveness. I have taken refuge in Him for protection from my enemies both external and internal. I can now let go of the past and strain on toward my goal of knowing Him. I am free to do right and to be righteous.

When we are dwelling on our sins and faults it is very hard to do right or be righteous. I know the hardest times for me to do right, especially as a wife and mother, are when I allow myself to worry (which is sin) or to be down and depressed (which is also sin). So instead of moping, I need to run to God, accept His forgiveness, love Him for His grace, worship Him for His mercy, and dwell in His house. When I do this, then His favor will surround me like a shield, and then He will bless me. His protection will be spread over me and I will be able to rejoice even more in what a great God we serve!


Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

We praise You for listening to us.  Help us to come to You each morning and remember our need for You daily.  Help us to wait in expectation.  You are good, always good, and we long to be close to You.  You do not delight in evil so help us Lord to live correctly before You.  Help us to turn away from worry and self pity.  We have You and that is all we need.  Help us to take refuge in You.  We praise You for Your grace and mercy.  Truly, You are good.

In Jesus Name,
Amen


QFT

1. Am I coming before the Lord each morning?  If not, what is getting in the way of this time?  How can I devote some time to God each morning, or increase the time/quality I am spending?

2.  Do I wait in expectation for the Lord?  Do I forget what I have asked God for?  Am I persistent in prayer?  Why or why not?  What answers to prayers have I received?

3.   What is my attitude towards sin?  Do I have the same hatred of it as God does? Are there some sins I tolerate in my life? Why? 

4.  How do I view God?  Do I focus on only one of His characteristics or do I strive to understand Him in all of His complexity?   Do I have reverence towards God or am I too casual with Him? How can I have a more appropriate attitude towards Him?

5.  Do I rejoice in all that I do have?  Am I grateful?  How can I improve my attitude in general towards God and life?  Do I feel blessed?  Why or why not?  How can I focus more on my blessings.