Daily Devotional for Monday, August 26

Asaph and the Exalted One

“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works,” Psalm 73:26-28.

Trials of life and spiritual battles confront all of us in different seasons. If they wane on, it is likely that we will get worn in the flesh and end up in a place of despair. In our key verses, the psalmist writes of spiraling in foolishness and anxiety due to such despair. In verse 23, we can almost see the weary man lift his eyes to God and find rest in His presence. Many good people wreck their lives in the middle of wearying trials because they have fallen into despair. Scripture declares that our strength, peace, hope and sanity are found in our closeness to our Heavenly Father.

I remember with fondness a season of heartache when all I could do was sit quietly, read Scripture and cry out to God continually. In that season, I experienced an intimacy with God like few other times in my life. God enriched my spirit, fed me with His Word and filled my soul with help. This season of intimacy with Him kept me from completely derailing my life in response to the pain.

The psalmist declared that it is good to draw near to God and put our trust in Him. We are also invited to declare the works of God to ourselves and to others in these times of heart break. Nothing can lift our spirits from a season of suffering to joy like praising God for what He has done and what He will do in our future.

DAILY THOUGHT
No matter how dark the season, we must remain in close fellowship with our Creator.

Steven Ridings