Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Psalm 78:5-7

By

Psalm 78:5-7    "For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:  (6)  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:  (7)  That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments"

"For he established a testimony in Jacob."  The "he" in this verse refers back to God.  "God established a testimony in Jacob."  What kind of testimony was established? If you go back to the book of Genesis and look at the life of Jacob, he felt he could go through life using his own ingenuity. In other words, he tried to cheat his way through life. He cheated his twin brother out of his birthright. He deceived his own father into giving him the blessing that actually belonged to Esau. He cheated his father in law out of livestock.  It seems he thought himself to be a prosperous man in the sight of the world.

Was this the testimony established in Jacob? No, it wasn't. Jacob thought himself to be prosperous until the Lord came to him in a dream. Jacob began to see himself as he truly was as the Lord began to reveal himself to him.  When Jacob began to see the Lord, he realized how helpless he truly was. Jacob stopped depending upon himself and began to lean upon the promises of the Lord. "You said you would surely do me good." Jacob completely depended upon that promise.

The story of Jacob is much more involved than this devotion will go today, but the lesson that is ultimately learned in Jacob is found in verse 7 of our text: "that they might set their hope in God."  If Jacob could speak to us today, his testimony might go something like this. I wasted most of my life trying to do it my way. It just didn't work. But I finally learned the key to a satisfying life of contentment after the Lord showed His goodness to me. Learn to lean upon the Lord in all your ways and He will direct you in the right paths of life. Don't hesitate to ask Him for His guidance and assistance in life.

"I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand"  by Cody Johnson

I thought number one would surely be me
I thought I could be what I wanted to be
I thought I could build on life's sinking sand
But I can't even walk without you holding my hand

I thought I could do a lot on my own
I thought I could make it all alone
I thought of myself as a mighty big man
But Lord I can't even walk without you holding my hand

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more