REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor David Kwon who heads Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, was first posted on November 19, 2013. He is a graduate of Drexel University (BS) and Columbia International University (M.Div.).
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“It Matters Most When We Are Not Feeling It”
Psalm 108:1-13 (NIV)
My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. 2 Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. 7 God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth. 8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? 12 Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. 13 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
There are times in our lives when we naturally sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord: when things are going well; when we return from a mission trip or retreat; when we finally get that promotion. When we find ourselves in seasons of abundance, such as these moments, we give God the praise out of the natural outpouring of our feelings.
But other times, we have to stir our hearts to praise God. It is during these times that we need to be reminded that God is still worthy, even when we’re not feeling it. It’s easy for us to just run off our lists of requests when we come to God in prayer, but it’s important for us to start, as David did in this psalm, with praise and declaration of God’s majesty and worth (especially in those times when we’re not feeling it—that’s when it matters most). And as we praise him, often our feelings will follow.
Let’s stir our hearts to praise the Lord this morning!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I shall praise You whatever the circumstances. I shall exalt Your holy name whether I am “well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want,” for I am eternally grateful for Your Son who died for my sin. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Galatians 1
Lunch Break Study
Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-11: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Questions to Consider
- What promises are we given in this passage?
- How are we able to “abound in every work”?
- What do you think Romans 12:1-2 mean?
Notes
- If we sow, we will reap. This is not merely a principle to live by (“you reap what you sow”) but it’s a promise from God. God will give us great increase, not only in material things, but spiritually as well.
- God gives us an abundance of blessing. He makes sure that we have exactly what we need all the time and in everything we do. Psalm 23:1 says that God’s people “lack nothing” because He provides for us. This not only enables us to do good works, but should also excite us to do them. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13).
- Romans 12:1-2 calls us to give ourselves to God as an offering. While God calls us to give of our possessions, He also calls us to give our whole selves to Him. Yet sometimes our devotion to God is reluctant and under compulsion. Knowing that God provides for us and abundantly blesses our gifts, let us offer ourselves to Him cheerfully and abundantly (not grudgingly and sparingly).
Evening Reflection
A pastor said, “We hear a great deal about the Lord loving cheerful givers; we wonder where He finds them.”
Are you a cheerful giver? Do you give freely to those around you? Do you joyfully give yourself over to God daily? Pray and ask God to help you become a more joyful in your giving, trusting that He will abundantly bless you.