Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

God providentially placed Joseph in Egypt to save the Israelites from extinction. And He has placed you at this very point in history, in the certain location you are, for the very same reason…for every single event in our lives is ordained by God. For just as God watched over the Israelites to preserve them and to accomplish His divine plan and purpose…He watches over us. The Israelites had found themselves in marginal and tenuous situations before…places that the end had seemed near…but God’s grace always preserved the faithful few from which the Messiah would come…and in doing so redemption would be accomplished. They were always restored on the basis of God’s mercy and the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Their survival never due to some enemies’ weaknesses but solely on God’s sovereign power. Where you find yourself today is not out of luck, fate or accident but rather out of God’s providence to preserve His plan for your life.

Living for God and glorifying Him isn’t a complicated procedure. He’s laid the groundwork in His Word…making it amply known, revealed and explained. The three requisites here cover our relationships with others. The first is to act justly. That means applying God’s Word to the problems of today…confronting in love when needed…always looking to restore people back into a right relationship with God, and being concerned for people who are easily exploited such as the widow, orphan, and the poor. The second is a desire to be kind to others and serve them first before us. Finally, we are to prudently and contritely submit our life and service to God…and in doing so demonstrate true godliness.

Here in the Midwest they’re called million dollar rains. They’re timely rains that come at just the right time for the fields of corn and soybeans to produce a bumper crop. Here in this Psalm the Writer is speaking of the same kind of timely rain. A restoration of sorts of practical and economic benefit to assure a bountiful harvest, and a direct indication in this arid climate of God’s care and love for His people. These verses not only showcase the goodness of God , but as James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from our heavenly Father who doesn’t change.”

Each dawn we are given a priceless present…a new day, filled with uniqueness, freshness, and potential. Have you ever really thought about it? God is graciously granting you the gift of time…time to do with it as you choose. You can squander the time away on yourself and your desires, or you can use this gift of time to glorify God and serve Him. For we all will come to the day when there is no more time for us. Will we look back with regret or rejoicing? Will we be able to turn that day into a day of worship before the Lord with gladness of heart because of His great love for us, or will we lament for what might have been?

When we are living in the middle of difficult circumstances many times we can’t see where our paths are headed…this is why it’s so important to trust in the Lord and rely on His faithfulness. God will safely lead us through, no matter how dark or threatening the situation we find ourselves in can become. Yes, we may not know what’s going on, but we do know that we can trust in God’s grace and mercy, and His wisdom and unfailing character to bring us to the other side if we are but willing and obedient to His Word.

Joseph had correctly interpreted the chief cupbearer’s dream for him and was then asking him to put in a good word to Pharaoh…but as soon as he was restored to his position, the chief cupbearer quickly forgot Joseph in prison. But God didn’t. God never abandoned Joseph or turned His back on him as the days, months, and years went by. For it says that it was two years before the cupbearer remembered Joseph in prison. What do you think went through Joseph’s mind for those two years? Did he consider it a time of preparation or purgatory…of going through the process of growing with God or just two years of punishment? In our own lives those times of preparation can seem like being in prison too. It can be a time of confusion and wondering why we’re stuck where we’re at. But God alone gives meaning to all things, and so it’s to Him only we must look for the meaning within our current situation. Delay doesn’t mean defeat, and the preparation time you’re going through right now is only equipping you for the next move of God in your life.

All David had to do is look around himself at all the olive tree groves to make this analogy. Olive trees are evergreens…always alive and growing…their limbs spreading with greenery as they flourish, their wood resistive to decay. In Psalm 1:3 & Proverbs 3:18 the olive tree is a symbol of a blessed life full of wisdom from the Lord…the olive branch often a symbol of abundance and peace. When likening himself to an olive tree, David found life, security and hope in God’s merciful kindness…from the most distant time into the unforeseeable future.

God is the deliverer of all human beings…this general call to repentance and salvation being extended to all found in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is called Common Grace, where God lavishes generous provision on “all people”. But in this verse Paul is also talking about those who have taken the life-changing step to place their confidence in His Son, Jesus Christ…that is when God focuses His special, redemptive grace on “those who believe”.

Paul puts it rather bluntly in I Corinthians 1:25, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” So why do we keep trying to outwit or out maneuver God? We only have to read Proverbs 21:30 to know it’s futile…”There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” God’s creative, initiative, and overwhelming power far exceeds anything we could ever understand…plain and simple. His uniqueness and supremacy cannot be compared to any other pagan deity found throughout history. God has and will never lie, change His mind, or renege on His promises…something no one else can claim.

Jesus had just performed the great work of feeding the five thousand. With their bellies full, the crowd suddenly realized He and His disciples were nowhere to be found…so they went searching for Him. To them, it had been merely an opportunity for a meal, not recognizing it as a sign identifying Jesus as the long awaited Messiah. When they found Him, Jesus instead taught them of not laboring for material things, but for the lasting bread of eternal life through Him. Has Church become for you just “Dinner and a Show”, where you go to be entertained and have your spiritual belly filled with good stuff? Are you laboring for what doesn’t satisfy? Look to Jesus today and become a partaker of the eternal bread of life.