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by Bible League International

Verse of the Day and Devotion

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!  – Psalm 32:11 NKJV

Devotion

Maybe you don’t feel very happy about things at the present time. Maybe the trials, troubles, tribulations, and persecutions of life have gotten to you and brought you down. If so, then consider this: There is at least one thing that you can be happy about. Indeed, there is at least one thing that can make you glad and make you rejoice. It’s the Lord. Despite what’s bringing you down, despite what’s making you unhappy, you still have a relationship to Him. You can be glad and you can rejoice because you’re on the good side of God.

You’re on the good side because you’re righteous. That is, you’re in right-standing with Him. You’re willing to come before Him and confess your sins and receive His forgiveness. (Psalm 32:5) You’re willing to serve Him. Instead of acting like an unbroken horse, instead of acting like a stubborn mule, you’re willing to do the things He wants you to do. The Lord won’t have to harness you with bit and bridle and force you to go where He wants you to go. (Psalm 32:9)

Despite any unhappiness you may be experiencing, then, there is cause for great rejoicing. In point of fact, there is cause for shouts of joy! You’ve been accepted by the Lord God Himself. You have hope for the future. You have hope for the here and now and for the life to come. Instead of keeping this cause for joy inside of you, instead of merely holding it in your heart of hearts, there is reason to shout it out loud. There is reason to shout it out loud in song: “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:1)

After all, it’s the kind of thing those in right-standing with the Lord do. It’s the kind of thing the upright in heart are more than willing to do. You don’t hold back your confession. You don’t hold back your service and obedience. Your shouts for joy, as a result, should not be held back either.Instead, you should release them into the public domain. You should release them where others can see and hear what your relationship to the Lord means to you.

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by Bible League International

Verse of the Day and Devotion

They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  – Psalm 112:7 NIV

Devotion

I trust in the Lord. I believe that He exists and that He’s the Creator of all things. It was He that brought every created thing into existence. He’s also the providential Sustainer of every created thing. Every one of His creatures depends upon Him for its continuing existence. If He were to withdraw His sustaining hand, then they would cease to exist. He Himself, on the other hand, depends on nothing for His existence. He always has been, is, and always will be. (Revelation 22:13) I trust Him because of this, I trust Him because of who He is and what He can do. For with Him, “all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

My heart, as a result, is steadfast. It’s like I’m standing on a rock that cannot be moved. The rain may come down, the streams may rise, and the winds may blow, but I stand steadfast on the rock nevertheless. (Matthew 7:24-25) I’m not like “a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6) I don’t waver here, there, and everywhere. After all, why would I? My trust is in the rock that stands firm no matter what comes about. Instead of wavering, then, I sing: “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.” (Psalm 57:7)

Even bad news can’t shake me from off the rock and bring me down. It can’t make me surrender to the fear that is always warring against my soul. With David I say, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:3) With the sons of Korah I say that I will not fear, “though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.” (Psalm 46:2) In faith I say, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise-in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4)

I have no fear because I know that everything will work out for me, even when things happen that I wish would not happen. (Romans 8:28) I have no fear because I know that He will preserve me even under those circumstances. (Psalm 138:7)

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by Bible League International

Verse of the Day and Devotion

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”  – Psalm 50:15 NKJV

Devotion

You thought that everything you were trying to accomplish was in dire jeopardy. You thought that no one, least of all you, could make it past what you were facing without a serious problem. At the very least, so you thought, it would be a side-track that would be difficult to negotiate. At the most, so you feared, it would be a barrier that would stop your forward momentum for a very long time. True, people face problems all the time, but the problem you were facing wasn’t’ an all-the-time kind. It was more like a once-in-a-lifetime kind.

As it turned out, however, the problem was really an opportunity in disguise. It truly was a problem, but it was a problem that led you to an opportunity in the next phase of what you were working towards. Instead of side-tracking you or blocking you, it rid you of everything that was irrelevant and inconsequential to your goals and initiatives. You found out that you didn’t need what you thought you needed. Even more, you found out that you were better off without all of it. Could it be that the problem was actually a good thing? Could it be that it was actually necessary? (see Romans 8:28)

It’s not that the problem could not have done what you feared it could have done. It most certainly could have. What, however, kept that from happening? It was that you did what our verse for today says that you should do. You called upon the Lord when the day of trouble came. Instead of facing the problem on your own, you called out to the Lord God and brought Him into the equation. It was a smart move. After all, “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) As a result, He turned your problem into an opportunity for further growth and development.

What shall you do when the God for whom nothing is impossible comes through for you and delivers you from all your problems? You shall do what our verse for today says you shall do. You shall glorify Him. No one needs to remind you. No one needs to encourage you. You do it automatically.

It’s because you know from whence your help has come. (Psalm 121:1) It’s because you know it could not have happened without Him.