Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 26:1-14. Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2026&version=NASB

I quote the following verses from it.

“1 Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. …

14 You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.” Exodus Chapter 26: Verses 1 and 14.

——————-

If we read the whole Scripture for today (all of Exodus 26:1-14), then our eyes glaze over as we are likely bored by the precise details of God’s commands for the construction of the curtains of the tabernacle. But, we later read that Moses did the work “just as the LORD commanded”):

“19 He (Moses) spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Exodus 40:19.

And, Moses also did the other work on the tabernacle commanded in the surrounding Scripture with all of its details. “… Thus Moses finished the work.” Exodus 40:33.

“34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34.

Yes, Moses did the work. But, the blessing occurs not because of the work, but because the red blood of Christ (symbolized in today’s Scripture by the covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red) covers our sins.

“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,

And whose sins have been covered.

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Romans 4:5-8.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 25:31-40. Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+25&version=NASB

I quote the following verses from it.

“31 “Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. …

37 Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.” Exodus Chapter 25: Verses 31 and 37-40.

————-

Today’s Scripture presents the Golden Lampstand. Like the Ark of the Covenant and the Table of the Showbread covered in the last two devotions, the Golden Lampstand was in the tabernacle and part of the first covenant which had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. See Hebrews 9:1-5.

And like the Ark of the Covenant and the Table of Showbread, the Golden Lampstand was a copy of heavenly things. “… but the heavenly things themselves (were) with better sacrifices than these.” Hebrews 9:23.

The Golden Lampstand pointed to the future Messiah, Jesus Christ Who is the Light of the World.

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” John 1:4.

“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” John 1:9.

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12.

“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” John 9:5.

“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” John 12:46.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 25:23-30.

“23 “You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long and one cubit wide and one and a half cubits high. 24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold border around it. 25 You shall make for it a rim of a handbreadth around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. 26 You shall make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four feet. 27 The rings shall be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried. 29 You shall make its dishes and its pans and its jars and its bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. 30 You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.” Exodus 25:23-30.

—————–

Today’s Scripture presents the Table of Showbread. Like the Ark of the Covenant covered in yesterday’s devotion, the Table of Showbread was in the tabernacle and part of the first covenant which had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. See Hebrews 9:1-5.

And like the Ark of the Covenant covered in yesterday’s devotion, the Table of Showbread was a copy of heavenly things. “… but the heavenly things themselves (were) with better sacrifices than these.” Hebrews 9:23.

The Table of Showbread reminded the sons of Israel of how God provided Israel with bread sometimes through the miraculous means of manna falling from heaven.

But, more importantly, the Table of Showbread pointed to the future Messiah, Jesus Christ Who is the True Bread of Life.

“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:31-35.

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:47-51.

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:54-58.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 25:10-22.

“10 “They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. 11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. 12 You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. 16 You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.

17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 18 You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. 22 There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” Exodus 25:10-22.

——————

In brief summary introduction, the following Hebrews 9:1-5 describe the items of divine worship, including the ark of the covenant which is the focus of today’s Scripture.

“Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” Hebrews 9:1-5.

In much greater detail, Leviticus Chapter 16 describes the precise requirements for the Law of Atonement through which the sins of the sons of Israel would be forgiven. The following Scripture shows the role of the shedding and sprinkling of blood and the role of the mercy seat on the top of ark of the covenant. But, this section is just part of the precise requirements for the Law of Atonement.

“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities. When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.” Leviticus 16:15-19.

The purpose of this daily devotion beyond providing this introduction is to even more generally comment on three arks in Scripture. What they had in common was that these arks provided salvation. And, the first ark helps us understand the second ark which in turn helps us understand the third ark, most important of all. “Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” Hebrews 9:23-24.

First, Noah’s ark provided Noah’s family physical deliverance from the world-wide flood. See Genesis Chapters 6 and 7.

Second, starting with today’s Scripture, much more is stated in Scripture about the ark of the covenant, an earthly copy of the heavenly ark of salvation.

Third, and most importantly, Christ body is the heavenly ark of salvation. The first two arks help us understand and point us toward Christ.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 25:1-9.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.” Exodus 25:1-9.

—————–

Today’s Scripture gives us some descriptions of the earthly tabernacle which lead us to meditate on the heavenly temple.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2.

Like the variety of precious materials used for the earthly tabernacle that we see in today’s Scripture, we meditate on the even more precious and dazzling materials used for the heavenly temple.

“The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Revelation 21:9-21.

Like the earthly tabernacle provided a place for God to dwell, we meditate on the heavenly temple dwelling place of God.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4.

If you want more peeks at heaven, you can read more by clicking on my “Heaven” article tagged at the top of this home page.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 24:12-18.

“Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.” Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24:12-18.

——————-

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

“Know therefore today that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you.” Deuteronomy 9:3

“From the Lord of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.” Isaiah 29:6

“And the Lord will cause His voice of authority to be heard, And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones.” Isaiah 30:30

“Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” Isaiah 33:14

“In fierce anger He has cut off All the strength of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand From before the enemy. And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire Consuming round about.” Lamentations 2:3

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;  for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 24:9-11.

“Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.” Exodus 24:9-11.

——————–

We must remember the context of this Scripture. The immediate preceding verse stated: “So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Exodus 24:8. In other words, the reason why they saw God and God did not kill them is that the blood of the covenant provided forgiveness of sins (cleansing of the flesh) and appeased God’s wrath.

And, this is the lesson for us.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:13-14.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:19-25.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 24:1-8.

“1 Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Exodus 24:1-8.

————————

“Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:18-22.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:13-14.

“Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these (the blood of goats and bulls as in the first covenant of today’s Scripture), but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Hebrews 9:23.

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Hebrews 10:1-4.

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”  Galatians 3:24.

“For by one offering He (Christ through His blood) has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 23:27-33.

“27 I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. 31 I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”  Exodus 23:27-33.

—————-

Sometimes we wonder why God does not wipe out all of our enemies at once. He could wipe out all our enemies at once.

Sometimes we wonder why God gives us just enough money to get by. He could give us a fortune so we never had to worry about money again.

Sometimes we wonder why we don’t fully recover from health problems or at least recover as quickly as we could. He could perform a miracle on us as recorded in the Gospels.

Sometimes we wonder why we seem to face so many obstacles in advancing in our jobs. He could remove those obstacles and promote us.

Sometimes we wonder why …

God does not always tell us why He does not do so. But, in today’s Scripture, God explained why He planned to take years to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before Israel: “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.” Verse 29.

Scripture teaches us that “… God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32.

There are always good reasons why God doesn’t do something for us that seems clearly good for us, or on the other hand, why God allow things to happen to us that seem clearly bad for us. We need to trust God.

Sometimes God gives us reasons. In addition to today’s Scripture, we see other Scriptures where God gives reasons. Here is another example.

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Matthew 13:24-30.

But, sometimes God does not give us a reason (or, at least as clearly and quickly as we may want).

For example, as I was struggling with the financial trouble, I thought:

“Lord, I have been good. I have been doing the right things. I have had faith. Why don’t you deliver me now?!”

Over time, I began to understand that the Lord’s delivery is not dependent on how good we are or how right we are in doing the right things or how much faith we have. We can’t treat God like a cosmic bubble gum machine and insert a coin of “good work” or “faith” and immediately receive the bubble gum of “deliverance”.

The Lord may delay delivery sometimes to allow the testing of our faith: “that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” 1 Peter 1:7.

In conclusion, we need to trust God.

“¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
² For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”  Psalm 37:1-3.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 23:20-26.

“20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. 22 But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. 24 You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their sacred pillars in pieces. 25 But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. 26 There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” Exodus 23:20-26.

——————-

God gives us provisions and instructions “to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared”. Verse 20.

“8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,

Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,

Otherwise they will not come near to you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.

11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:8-11.

If we trust God, then we will obey God and lovingkindness will surround us.

We go out on Monday and every day with God’s provisions and instructions. Are we going to trust God?

“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them. The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’” Deuteronomy 1:29-31.

In a nutshell, remember what God has done for you! Read and remember God’s promises in His Word!

But, more important than our ability to read and remember, know that the ultimate source of our trust is God’s blessing on us. God instills trust in us.

“Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;

You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.” Psalm 22:9.

Trust in God is faith in God. And, faith is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:1-3.

We close with this exultation of trust in God.

“6 Blessed be the Lord,

Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

8 The Lord is their strength,

And He is a saving defense to His anointed.

9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;

Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.” Psalm 28:6-9.