January 19
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day,” Psalm 25:1-5.
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” The Lord, Jehovah, is the only true God, and He is the God of our salvation. He is the only One who can hear and answer our prayers. What motivates us to turn to Him? We turn to Him because we trust Him. He is the God of promises, and the God who fulfills His promises for both body and soul. In spirit, we stand before Him with outstretched arms, waiting for Him to pour out His blessings.
We plead, “Let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me.” Please, God, keep us from being mocked and ridiculed for our Christian faith, lest we be tempted in a moment of weakness to be silent or even deny You. Please, God, when the enemies of You and Your Word confront us, give us the proper words to say that will touch their hearts and consciences and lead them to repentance. Please, God, strengthen our faith so that we can stand up and confess Your name in the presence of the enemies of the Gospel.
We not only plead for ourselves, but we also pray for others. “Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed.” As Christians, all of us need to be strengthened in our faith at a time when Christianity is being attacked throughout the world. We wait upon God to enable us to be faithful witnesses for the proclamation of the Gospel.
“Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” We ask God to frustrate and bring to naught all the plotting and planning of the enemies of Christianity. Bring to naught the planning of those who hate the Christian Church and seek to destroy it by making fun of Christians and seeking to silence them by intimidation.
We pray for God to enlighten us by the Holy Spirit touching our hearts and lives through the revealed Word of God in the Bible. Please, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me.” Let us daily devote time to a searching and study of Holy Scripture, the source through which the Holy Spirit keeps us in the faith.
“For You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” The heart of Scripture is the message of salvation, which was gained for us when God so loved us and sent His Son to be our Savior. The Lord Jesus lived the perfect life in our place and fulfilled the Law of God for us. He took all our sins upon Himself and carried them to Calvary’s cross where He poured forth His holy, precious blood to wash away our sins. He suffered and died to pay the price for our redemption. Momentarily, His enemies rejoiced when He died, thinking that they had succeeded in silencing Him. However, on the third day, He rose from the grave, having conquered sin, death, and the devil.
Because we trust our forgiving God and Savior, we wait on Him for His blessings all the day, every day!
“While yet the morn is breaking, I thank my God once more,
Beneath whose care awaking, I find the night is o’er.
I thank Him that He calls me to life and health anew;
I know whate’er befalls me, His care will still be true.” Amen.