Daily Devotional for Saturday, June 1

Deliverance and Destruction

“Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee,” Psalm 5:10, 11.

We read in many places in the Bible of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. As a result of their unfaithfulness and sin, they faced the natural consequences of their own actions and experienced the result of God removing His protective hand and blessings. We read of their being taken into captivity because of their choice not to keep the covenant that God had made with them. The good news that can be read is that God has always wanted reconciliation with His people and that after disciplining them, He has always had a plan for deliverance and restoration.

God does not want to destroy us, but He does want to deliver us from the things that so easily get us off track and keep us from patiently running the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). While God wants to bless us, His blessings are usually dependent upon the choices we make in our lives. Destruction tends to come when we make the choice to turn from God’s council to our own (verse 10). “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Lord has always given us a choice to serve or reject Him, but when we reject Him, we are then open to the consequences of our actions. Every day we have a choice to make. What choice will you make today?

REFLECTION
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

Tim Chambers