Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR SEPTEMBER 29TH​

How To Examine Yourself​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 2 CORINTHIANS 13:5-10

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5-6

When we are out of line with Christian standards we have to ask ourselves, Am I a true Christian, or am I a counterfeit? Have I been born again, or am I only putting up a front? Those of us who are Christians ought to ask ourselves that occasionally. It is a good idea to examine yourself, especially if there is any kind of wrong behavior involved.

The very fact that the apostle could ask a question like that indicates that a possible answer is what marks true Christianity. A Christian, of course, is not simply one who joins a Christian church. Nor does adhering to a certain moral standard in your life or the fact that you consistently read the Bible make you a Christian. A true Christian is someone in whom Christ dwells. And the person in whom Christ dwells will have certain inescapable evidence of that fact given to him or her. Paul is suggesting that we ask ourselves if we have the evidence that Jesus Christ lives in us.

You may be asking, How can I know that? The answer is found in several places in Scripture. For instance, Scripture speaks of an inner witness. In Romans Paul says, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children (Romans 8:16). That is one way you can know. There is an inner testimony, a feeling, a sense within produced by the Spirit of God who dwells within that you are part of the great family of God.
Scripture speaks also of desires that are born in the heart of a new Christian. First Peter 2:2 says, Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. One of the marks of born-again believers is that they have a deep and sudden thirst for the Word of God, a hunger to be fed, to know the truth of God.

This inner change will also produce an outward change, which is not all subjective. We can answer the question, Is Jesus Christ in you? by observing our conduct, because the inner change will produce a different attitude toward our behavior. One of the striking things about new Christians is that they invariably begin to manifest a totally different attitude toward things they once thought were appropriate. In some of the more blatant forms of evil, such as attitudes about lying or drunkenness or stealing, they find immediately that their attitude is changed. That is because Christ lives in them, and light can have no part with darkness. Christ cannot share with Belial. Even our attitude toward our selfishness changes. We see how selfish we have been. It looks ugly and distasteful in our eyes, and we want to be free from it.

Lord, help me to honestly examine myself Thank You that as I do so, I can trust Your Spirit to show me what is displeasing to You.

Life Application​

How can we know whether we have true faith? What is the Evidence that we can really know and that others can see? What about when doubt strikes?
Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR SEPTEMBER 30TH​

A Word Of Peace​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11-14

Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings.
2 Corinthians 13:11-12

It is wonderful that this last word is a word of peace. The apostle sees beyond all the fragmentation in Corinth to the basic unity of the church. God created that unity, and it is there even though there is divisiveness, quarreling, jealousy, and division in the assembly. Christians belong to each other. They are part of the family of God, and they ought to act that way, he says.

Beyond the rebellion he sees the grace and the power of God, which is able to heal these breaches and restore people even to the point where they are able to give a holy kiss to one another. That was the standard greeting of that day. (We have lost that today, although some cultures retain that tradition. Today we have substituted a handshake, but I am happy when I see Christians greeting one another with hugs. Hugs are a much warmer and more accurate expression of Christian love and acceptance, one with another.)

The apostle is urging this upon these Christians: Change your ways. If Jesus Christ is in you, you can do it. That is his point. You cannot go on living like everybody else if Jesus Christ lives in you. This is the fundamental reason there must be a difference in Christians.

I was driving down the freeway one day, and a car cut in front of me, almost driving me off the road; then it cut ahead of the car in front of me. I noticed a bumper sticker on it that said, The difference in me is Jesus. I was not much impressed, and neither is the world impressed when they look at us and see us behaving just like everyone else. We are not to behave that way in our personal lives, because Christ is in us. We are not to behave in our corporate life that way, because Christ is among us. We are to be friendly, loving, open, and forgiving--not condemnatory, narrow, and bitter. We are different because Christ is among us.

Notice how the apostle closes. What a beautiful greeting this is. It is the clearest reference to the Trinity that there is in the New Testament: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. What a gracious word from this great apostle as he closes this letter to the church at Corinth! History does not tell us what happened in the church there, whether it was able to recover and obey this word or not. But Paul has left with us a tremendous testimony as to what constitutes Christianity at work in a pagan world. We are called to live in Corinthian conditions today. I hope and pray that these letters to the Corinthian church will mean much to us, that we too will obey the word of the apostle and recognize that when Jesus Christ is among us, we cannot be the same kind of people.

Thank You, Lord, that You are with me. You have sent me out into this world. I pray that I may behave as a person in whom Jesus Christ lives.

​

Life Application​

When faced with stressful divisiveness, quarreling, and/or jealousy in our personal & corporate lives, how and why can we remain friendly, loving, open, and forgiving?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 1ST​

The Secret Of Beauty And Strength​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 1

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season...
Psalm 1:3

Many years ago when I attended a youth conference in the Sierra Nevada, a young man came to me and took me aside. We stood together underneath a great Douglas fir, and he said, Pastor, I don't know what is the matter with me. I want to be a good Christian, and I try hard, but somehow I just never seem to make it. I'm always doing the wrong thing. I just can't live like a Christian.

I said to him, Well, there may be several reasons for that, but, first of all, let me ask you this: What about your private life with the Lord? How well do you know Him? How much do you delight in reading His Word and then spending time talking to Him? Because, after all, it's not the time you spend in reading the Word that's important, but it's the time you spend in enjoying the presence of God that strengthens you.
He hung his head and said, Well, I admit I don't do very much of that.

Just then this very phrase from the Psalms flashed into my mind: He is like a tree planted by streams of water. I stepped back and said to him, Look at this tree we're under. What does it remind you of? What are the qualities this tree suggests to you?
He looked at the tremendous Douglas fir, towering up into the heavens above, and said, Well, the first thing is, it's strong.

I said, Yes, anything else?
Well, he said, it's beautiful.
I said, Exactly! Beauty and strength. Those are the two things you admire about this tree. And those are exactly the two things you want in your own life, aren't they? Beauty and strength?
He said, Right.

Well, I said, tell me this: What makes this tree beautiful and strong? Where does it get its beauty and its strength?
He stopped for a moment and looked at the tree. Then he said, Well, from the roots, I guess.
I asked him, Can you see the roots?

No, he said, you can't. Then he said, I get it! That is the hidden part of life, but it is the secret of this tree's beauty and strength, isn't it?
That is exactly what this psalmist is saying. Those who are godly have learned, in the hidden inner parts of their life, to draw upon the grace and glory and strength of God. Their roots run deep into rich and moist soil, and this is what makes them beautiful and strong. And they are fruitful: He ... yields its fruit in season. That is probably a reference to the fruit of the Spirit, which is described for us in the New Testament. It is the character of God, and that is always the same in either the Old or the New Testament: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, and the rest of the qualities listed in Galatians 5:22.

Father, I cannot read these words without asking myself the question: Am I allowing this marvelous provision for producing godlikeness to bear fruit in me? Or does a great deal of my life still consist of ungodliness so that I am like the chaff that the wind drives away?

​

Life Application​

Beautiful, strong and fruitful describes a life rooted and grounded in God's life and love. Are we planted and nurtured in the soil of Christ's character?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 2ND​

Light And Truth​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 43

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Psalm 43:3-4

What a word of triumph! Now the psalmist understands what God is doing; He is driving him step by step to the ultimate refuge of any believer in any time of testing: the Word of God, which is the truth of God coupled with the light. The truth is God's Word; the light is your understanding of it. The psalmist cries out for an understanding of the Word as he reads it and for light, which breaks out of these marvelous promises to encourage and strengthen his heart. He says, If you will do that, God, then my heart will be filled with joy and gladness, and I will praise you with the harp; for you, O God, are my God, my personal God. What a revelation that is!

There comes a time in all of our lives when we discover for ourselves that the ultimate refuge of any believer is in the Word of God, in what God has said. I remember such a time in my early ministry. I had just begun my work at PBC when a young man who was having severe marital problems came to me for counsel, and I tried to help him as best I could and eventually led him to Christ. For a few weeks there was a real change in this young man's life. He gained firm hold on God. But, as often happens, there came a time of testing of his faith, and he was plunged into despair. One Sunday morning he called me up just before church and asked me over the phone for help and prayer. I told him that as soon as the church service was over, I would come to see him. When the service ended, I did go over to see him. He didn't answer when I knocked, so, finding the door open, I went in and looked for him. I finally found him in his bedroom, dead by his own hand.

The rest of that day I was shaken and did not know what to do. I was upset and did not know whether I wanted to continue in the ministry; it seemed so senseless and useless. I tried every way to find help. I prayed, but it did not seem to relieve me. I talked with others, tried to keep busy, but nothing worked. Finally, that night, fearing that I would lie sleepless, my wife and I together took our Bibles and began to read. To this day, I do not know what we read, but I remember that every word came like balm, like healing salve, to my heart. In that time of deep, dark despair and frustration, the reading of the Word healed my heart.

Father, how grateful I am for this remarkable psalm and its help to my heart in times of depression. Help me, Lord to lay hold of it and use it in my life, knowing this was written for my instruction.

​

Life Application​

Where can we seek refuge when circumstances make us confused and hurt? What gift brings light to our confusion, truth and joy to our woundedness?


Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 3RD​

When Feet Slip​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 73:1-14

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalm 73:2-3

When you were a new Christian, were you troubled by the feeling that becoming a child of God ought to make life easier for you because you had become the object of a heavenly Father's love and care, but instead you found things became worse? You finally found yourself frustrated and depressed, especially when you saw that the ungodly around you were often enjoying life to the full. There are many Christians who struggle with such a problem. It is this very problem that is brought before us in Psalm 73.

The problem is stated for us in the opening verses. What was bothering the psalmist was the apparent contradiction between what he had been taught in the Scriptures--that God was good to the upright and to those who were pure in heart--and his experience in life. He was envious, he said, of the arrogant and disturbed by the prosperity of the wicked. That prosperity seemed to him to be a direct contradiction to what he had been taught about God. He had been told that if you are upright and pure in heart, that is, you had learned to lay hold of the righteousness that God provides and were cleansed by His grace, then God would be good to you, take care of you, and watch over you.

Instead, this man was finding his own situation to be difficult and very discouraging, but the wicked around him, the ungodly, seemed to prosper, and everything was going well with them. This bothered him greatly. He could not reconcile this. It troubled him so terribly that it created a deep resentment and envy in his heart. Ultimately he found himself threatened with a complete loss of faith. His feet had almost slipped, he had almost stumbled, and he had come to the place where he was almost ready to renounce his faith.

Here is one of the great values of the Psalms for us. These wonderful folk songs of faith reflect our own experience. They are an enactment of what most of us are going through, have gone through, or will go through in the walk of faith. There have been many Christians troubled like this. They have been swayed by the seeming logic of the argument of the infidel or atheist. They say, How can your God be both a God of love and power? If He's a God of power, as you Christians say He is and can do all things, then He cannot be a God of love, or He would do something to correct injustices. New Christians are often tremendously affected by this argument and become discouraged and frightened as they face the seeming logic of it. How can God be both a God of love and power and yet allow His own to suffer so terribly at times while the unrighteous seem to prosper and everything goes well with them? That was the problem this man was facing.

Lord, help me to trust, despite what I often see around me, that You are a God of both infinite power and infinite love.

​

Life Application​

God does not wince at our hard questions and weak faith. Are we learning to be honest with God, exposing ourselves to the probing of the Spirit?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 4TH​

The View From The Sanctuary​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 73:15-28

...till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Psalm 73:17

When the psalmist speaks of going into the sanctuary, he means he came before the presence of God. He actually went into the temple where God had made provision to meet with His people. When he did that, he began to see things from God's point of view. In the temple he began to shift from natural thinking to spiritual thinking. The problem was that he had been thinking like a natural man. Thus, he had gotten himself worked up into a terrible state of frenzy. But wonderfully, in the sanctuary, he begins to understand as he thinks from God's point of view. That is the great thing about the Scriptures. It means that when you come to church or read the Scriptures, you are not coming merely to find something to soothe you a bit; you are coming that you might have your eyes opened, that you might see things as they really are and thus begin to understand life. There are many people who are content to use the Bible only to soothe their feelings when they get upset, but the Bible is not provided for that. It is provided that we might understand what is happening to us in every aspect of life, and that is what happened to the psalmist. He came into the sanctuary, and there he began to think from God's point of view.

The trouble with so-called natural thinking is that it is always centered on self, and natural-thinking people react to their circumstances according to their feelings, moods, and emotions. When that happens to you, your range of vision is narrowed down to only those factors that are troubling you. You cannot think beyond them. When your feelings govern you, they always limit you. That is what was troubling this man.
He begins to see it when he comes into the sanctuary, into the presence of God, because there he begins thinking spiritually. Spiritual thinking is centered on God, and the mind is in control and not the feelings. Then you are not being governed by emotions but by thoughts relating to facts. Thus, your vision is broadened, and you can see other things besides the one thing that is disturbing your emotions. It is made possible only when you enter the sanctuary.

How do we enter the sanctuary today? According to the New Testament, we ourselves are the sanctuary. God lives in us. To draw near to Him is to enter the sanctuary. We enter the sanctuary in various ways: by exposing ourselves to His truth in the Scripture; or by facing truth we have forgotten as we fellowship with other Christians; or by directly praying to God and changing our thinking from natural to spiritual.

Father, teach me this same truth. Keep me from being envious of the ungodly, but help me to enter Your sanctuary and have my mind renewed by Your truth.

​

Life Application​

Is our perspective on life being formed and limited by self-centered feelings or emotions? What are three ways to re-calibrate our vision?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 5TH​

The Dwelling Place​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 90:1-6

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:1-2

In this psalm Moses begins by declaring that God has been the dwelling place of people in all generations. What is a dwelling place? It is where you live, your home. This statement declares that God has been the home of humans ever since they have been on the earth. In all generations, God is where they continually live. You will recognize that this is the same truth Paul uttered when he addressed the Athenians on Mars Hill. He explained to them that God is not far from any of us (even pagans, he points out), for in him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). God exists as a home for people.

That is a tremendous thought, isn't it? Here Moses is looking back over the course of human history and declaring that God is great because He is the God of history. Moses had seen pharaohs live and die. Perhaps he had seen the tombs of the pharaohs and noted the many who in the past had been laid to rest. Despite the passing centuries, there is no change in the relationship of humans to God. He has been the home of people for all generations.

Then Moses points out that God is the God of creation. Here he is looking back across that record and saying that before the mountains were formed, God was. Then before that, he brought forth the earth and the world. To us that is saying the same thing, but in the Hebrew it is literally the earth and the land. God formed the earth first and then later brought out the land from the waters, as the book of Genesis makes clear. The land emerged from waters that covered the earth. So Moses is gradually moving back in time from the formation of the mountains to the emergence of the land and finally the creation of the earth itself. Before all this, God was.

Then he takes a longer leap into timelessness and says, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Surely here is the greatness of God. He is the God of history. He is the God of creation. But beyond all that, He is the God of eternity. He is beyond and above His creation. He is greater than the universe He produced, and before it existed, He was. In fact, the Hebrew here is again very interesting. It suggests the translation, From the vanishing point in the past to the vanishing point in the future; thus, from everlasting to everlasting God exists. How great He is!

When I think that Moses, so many long centuries ago, understood these great facts about You, I am inclined to cry with him, Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

​

Life Application​

Home is where the heart is. Have our hearts found that place of Sabbath rest in Him who is our true home? He is seeking us; are we seeking Him?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 6TH​

The Tragic Sense Of Life​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 90:7-17

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Psalm 90:8

Here the psalmist, in all the honesty of his outlook on life, is facing a reality that many of us try to avoid. He is dealing with what we might call the tragic sense of life: the fact that every moment of enjoyment is tinged with something sorrowful, tragic, or unhappy. There is a bittersweet quality about life, and these psalmists realistically face it. Why do we have these tragedies, irritations, injustices, and catastrophes that strike both innocent and guilty alike?

In years past I succumbed to family pressure and a long-standing interest on my part and bought a small motorboat to use for water skiing, fishing, and other water sports. Of course I couldn't wait to see how the boat would run. I took it down to the Palo Alto boat harbor and launched it in the bay. My wife and youngest daughter were aboard, and we went out for a spin on the bay. But out in the middle of the bay, we ran aground! The motor hit bottom, and before I could lift it up, the shear pin had severed, and there we were, powerless in the middle of the bay. Fortunately I had taken along a couple of paddles that belonged to a little rubber boat we had, but all I had were these little paddles that fit together like a kayak paddle. When I fully realized that we were adrift in the middle of the bay I was a bit concerned, as I didn't know which way the tide was running, and I had read stories in the paper about people who spent the night on the mud flats. The thought crossed my mind, Is this really fair?

The longer I paddled toward the disappearing shore, the more convinced I was that it was unfair treatment. We finally landed at the only place on the lower western side of the bay where there was a telephone, so we didn't spend the night on the bay. But the situation served to underscore for me the fact that the psalmist is facing here: There is a dark side to life. There come sudden occurrences that cast a cloud over the sunshine. Sometimes they are much more serious than my boat incident. We all know how frequently these things happen. What is the reason for them?

The psalmist says it is because of the wrath of God. Surely this concept of the wrath of God is greatly misunderstood by many people. Many think invariably of some sort of peeved deity who indulges in violent and uncontrolled displays of temper when we human beings do not do what we ought to do. The Bible never deals with the wrath of God that way. According to the Scriptures, the wrath of God is God's moral integrity. When people refuse to yield themselves to God, He creates certain conditions that He has ordained for harm.

The cause of God's wrath, then, is always human sin. The manifestation of God's wrath would never be apparent were it not for the secret sins that are set in the light of God's countenance. God knows our inner sins, our secret inner thoughts. God is aware of these inner defilements of life, and they are all contributing to the tragic sense of life.

Lord, in the midst of the tragedies, irritations, and injustices of life, help me to trust that even in wrath You are merciful.

​

Life Application​

When there are dark and difficult days we sometimes ask - Why me? Are we willing to cooperate with God's disciplines, ever thankful for His mercies?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 7TH​

A Place To Settle​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 107:1-32

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
Psalm 107:4-5

Who are these wanderers? They are what we might call the restless ones. They are the ones who wander about from place to place, from job to job, or from marriage to marriage, filled with questions and seeking to find where the answer lies. There are a lot of them today. They cannot find the answers. They are looking for something, but they cannot find it. They keep wandering from place to place and from experience to experience, trying to find something to satisfy.

The psalmist says they are looking for a city where they could settle. Those of us who live in a city and are choked with fumes; crowded on the freeways; and exhausted with fighting taxes, crime, and crabgrass wonder why anyone would want to live in a city; it is the country that is attractive to us. But the Bible indicates that God has designed that humans should ultimately live in cities. Hebrews 11:10 says that Abraham was looking for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Why? A city is always characterized by two qualities: excitement and security. Excitement is created whenever people gather together. There things are happening; that is where the action is. Cities are also a place of security. If you are going to experience trouble, it is better to have others around. Defense is more easily possible in a city if an attack comes. So the people described in this verse are looking for the things you can find in a city: excitement and security.

We are told how they find satisfaction: Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle (Psalm 107:6-7). Some of you have had this experience. You too were restless; you were uncertain, wandering, hungry, and thirsty for life, but you could never find it. You tried everything. Finally, when you reached the bottom, you cried to the Lord in your trouble. When you did, He heard you. Not suddenly or instantaneously, but gradually, He began to set you free. He began to lead you by a straight way. God delivers those in this condition by leading them in a straight way. They have been wandering circuitously, deviously; now they start going straight. That is the way described in the Scripture. It is a straight way, right through the middle of life. God leads them until they find a city to dwell in, until they reach the place of excitement and security.

Lord, thank You for hearing my cry for help. Thank You for Your steadfast love, which rescues me from my restless wandering and leads me in the straight way.

​

Life Application​

Being at home with Christ is the joyful expectation of His people. Are we on the straight path that leads to that home, or have we settled for the wastelands?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 8TH​

Steadfast Love​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 107:1, 33-43

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

This is the recurrent theme of Psalm 107. The psalmist speaks of the steadfast love of God. In Hebrew, the word means an eager and ardent desire and refers to the fact that God's love never gives up. We sing about it in the hymn,

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.

The thing that finally gets to us, breaks the back of our rebellion, and sets us free from our emotional hang-ups is the unqualified love of God, which never lets us go. We might use a term that is more easily understood in our day. Instead of steadfast love, read unqualified acceptance. That is what God's love does. It accepts us without reserve.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD (Psalm 107:43). That means you are to think about all this! Ask yourself how this relates to you. Many people are going through a difficult situation. Many are wandering, restless, hostile, or bitter. They are held prisoner by some attitude, outlook, or habit. Or they are sick, neurotic, emotionally upset. Perhaps some are fearful, troubled by a crisis into which they have come. This may be your situation. Stop and think about how God accepts you, how He loves you, how He is deeply concerned about you and will meet you right where you are and take you just as you are. His love does not change a bit whether you are a failure or a success. It does not make any difference to Him how you appear in the eyes of others. God loves you; He is concerned about you and has already received you, already given you all that he can give in Jesus Christ. Begin to rejoice in that fact. You will find that love will set you free so that you can act upon the power and liberty God gives.

When you think about your relationship to others, give heed to these things. Have you ever tried unqualified acceptance with your boss? Or your mother-in-law? Or the kid next door who is so mean and difficult? Have you ever tried unqualified acceptance with your children when they are giving you so much trouble, your teenagers who make you mad every time you come in the door? Have you ever tried unqualified acceptance with your parents, who are always on your back and never seem to give you a break? Have you ever tried unqualified acceptance with those who are difficult or demanding of you?

Father, how wonderful to see that Your unqualified love is designed for every situation in which I might find myself. I ask You to set me free by love that I might sing this wonderful song of deliverance.

​

Life Application​

Everyone longs for enduring love. Where can we go to experience this unqualified acceptance? How can we ourselves freely give it? In Christ we can!


Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 9TH​

When You Are Falsely Accused​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 109

But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
Psalm 109:21

Here is a man who is under attack from rather unscrupulous persons. Those who attack him so bitterly are obviously not to be trusted. They are deceitful, he says. They are wicked. In other words, they are determined upon evil, and they are thoroughly unscrupulous; they do not care what they say or what they do. With lying tongues they are out to destroy.

Perhaps some of you have had this experience. Someone who has deliberately sought to slander you, to besmirch your character, or ruin your reputation, has unjustly accused you and you know just how this man felt. Furthermore, these people are wholly unjustified in this attack. He says they do this without a cause, at least as far as the psalmist David can see, and we take him to be an honest man. He sees absolutely no reason for their accusations. They are afflicting him, upsetting him, and attacking him without his having given them any reason to do so.
What shall he do? Well, what he does is beautiful. He commits the whole matter to the Lord in prayer. This closing prayer of the psalm is a marvelous picture of the right attitude, the right reaction, and the right way to handle this kind of a situation.

Notice that the first thing he does is to commit the cause to God. But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake. Here is a man who understands how life operates. He understands the truth behind the admonition of Scripture, both in the Old and New Testament, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19). Vengeance is mine! Don't you try it; don't you attempt it. Don't try to 'get even,' because if you do, you'll only make the matter worse. You will perpetuate a feud that may go on for years, even for centuries, destroying, wrecking, damaging others, and creating all kinds of difficulties both for them and for you. No, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I am the only one who has the wisdom adequate to handle this kind of a problem. The psalmist recognizes that and commits the cause to God.

But he also understands that God's name is involved in all this. When God's people are being persecuted, then God is also being persecuted. It is up to God to defend His name, not people. Recall that when Saul of Tarsus was converted on the Damascus road and the Lord Jesus appeared to Him that Saul cried out to Him and said, Lord, who are you? Jesus said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Saul was persecuting the Christians, but when he was persecuting them, he was also persecuting the Lord. God is involved in His people's trials. God is involved in what happens to His own. The psalmist, understanding this, commits the whole cause to God and says, God, you deal with it. It is Your problem. Your name is involved; you handle it on my behalf for Your name's sake. Is that not a thoroughly Christian reaction?

Father, forgive me for striking back when I have been falsely accused. Help me to commit my cause to You, trusting that You know how to work these things out.

​

Life Application​

When we are feeling attacked, hurt and unjustly treated what kind of vengeance can we absolutely count on? Where should our attitude and thoughts be focused?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[civic]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 9TH​

When You Are Falsely Accused​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 109


Here is a man who is under attack from rather unscrupulous persons. Those who attack him so bitterly are obviously not to be trusted. They are deceitful, he says. They are wicked. In other words, they are determined upon evil, and they are thoroughly unscrupulous; they do not care what they say or what they do. With lying tongues they are out to destroy.

Perhaps some of you have had this experience. Someone who has deliberately sought to slander you, to besmirch your character, or ruin your reputation, has unjustly accused you and you know just how this man felt. Furthermore, these people are wholly unjustified in this attack. He says they do this without a cause, at least as far as the psalmist David can see, and we take him to be an honest man. He sees absolutely no reason for their accusations. They are afflicting him, upsetting him, and attacking him without his having given them any reason to do so.
What shall he do? Well, what he does is beautiful. He commits the whole matter to the Lord in prayer. This closing prayer of the psalm is a marvelous picture of the right attitude, the right reaction, and the right way to handle this kind of a situation.

Notice that the first thing he does is to commit the cause to God. But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake. Here is a man who understands how life operates. He understands the truth behind the admonition of Scripture, both in the Old and New Testament, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19). Vengeance is mine! Don't you try it; don't you attempt it. Don't try to 'get even,' because if you do, you'll only make the matter worse. You will perpetuate a feud that may go on for years, even for centuries, destroying, wrecking, damaging others, and creating all kinds of difficulties both for them and for you. No, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I am the only one who has the wisdom adequate to handle this kind of a problem. The psalmist recognizes that and commits the cause to God.

But he also understands that God's name is involved in all this. When God's people are being persecuted, then God is also being persecuted. It is up to God to defend His name, not people. Recall that when Saul of Tarsus was converted on the Damascus road and the Lord Jesus appeared to Him that Saul cried out to Him and said, Lord, who are you? Jesus said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Saul was persecuting the Christians, but when he was persecuting them, he was also persecuting the Lord. God is involved in His people's trials. God is involved in what happens to His own. The psalmist, understanding this, commits the whole cause to God and says, God, you deal with it. It is Your problem. Your name is involved; you handle it on my behalf for Your name's sake. Is that not a thoroughly Christian reaction?

​

Life Application​

When we are feeling attacked, hurt and unjustly treated what kind of vengeance can we absolutely count on? Where should our attitude and thoughts be focused?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

Reminds me of Proverbs 6 below

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 10TH​

Design And Determinism​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 139:1-18

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16

The phrase unformed body literally in Hebrew is my rolled-up substance. It paints a picture of the embryo, all rolled up. People are asking questions today about when life begins. When does an embryo become a human being? The answer of the psalmist is, Thy eyes beheld me--not an impersonal collection of cells that wasn't me yet--in my rolled-up embryonic state. The marvel of the human body, even at that stage of growth, has convinced him that God is with him and knows him immediately.

Some will remember the Alger Hiss case quite a number of years ago. Alger Hiss was accused of communist conspiracy while he was a functionary of the government. A primary participant in that case was a man named Whittaker Chambers, also a member of the Communist Party and a contact of Alger Hiss. Whittaker Chambers later wrote a book in which he told how he became a Christian. One day when he was sitting with his little two-year-old daughter on his lap, his eye fell on her ear, and it caught his attention. He was struck by the design of that ear.

How beautiful, how shell-like it was, and how perfectly designed to catch every sound wave in the air to be translated into sound by the brain. Knowing something of the mechanics of the ear, he began to think about it. He was struck by how impossible it is that anything so intricate, so complex, so beautifully designed could ever occur by chance. That led him to other lines of thought, and eventually he investigated the Christian position and became a Christian. The argument from design is a great argument, and it is what the psalmist uses here.

He is not only impressed by the argument from design but by the evidence of determinism. Evidently he had an experience similar to many of us--there came certain days in his life during which so many unrelated factors suddenly fell together to produce a circumstance or an experience that he could not help but be aware that something was causing it to happen, that it was all being brought about by a mind greater than his own.

We have all had something happen suddenly, something that we did not plan or expect. It was made up of so many varied factors that all of a sudden fit together, dovetailing beautifully, that we became aware that Someone else was planning our days and yet allowing us free will in the experience of them. That was what struck this psalmist. It was the fact that, even before these days occurred, they were written in the book of God--they were planned for him.

Lord, no one knows me like You. You knew me before I was born, and You knew what each day of my life would hold. I praise You and thank You for Your intimate knowledge of me.

​

Life Application​

Have we deeply contemplated the organized design we see in creation? What about the pieces of our lives that seem to assemble as though in a master plan?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 11TH​

A Prayer Of Passion​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 139:19-24

If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me you bloodthirsty men!
Psalm 139:19

Why do these psalmists seem all of a sudden to interject these bloody thoughts? Why this sudden word of passion, If only you would slay the wicked! This has troubled many because it seems so far from the New Testament standard, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). How shall we understand these things?

We need to recognize that everything the psalmist asks for is not necessarily a reflection of God's will. We are reading the experiences of believers, and their thoughts are not always reflections of God's perfect will. At times, the Psalms earnestly mirror the human viewpoint, and we need to understand these passages in their context. In this paragraph, the psalmist, having been gripped by his close relationship with God, now naturally comes to the place where he asks God for something. That is also what we do. When we are aware of being near to God, being dear to Him, we tend to ask God for things, but those things are not always in keeping with God's best for us. That is what this psalmist is doing.

He asks God to take care of the problem of the wicked. His suggested manner of handling it is rather naive. He says, Lord, wipe them out, as though such a simple remedy for human ills had never occurred to the Almighty. Have you ever felt that way? One of the refreshing things about these psalms is the honesty they reflect.

There are several things we need to note about this: For one thing, this psalmist's request falls short even of the Old Testament standard. It is the Old Testament that first says, Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). The New Testament and the Old Testament are not opposed to one another in this matter of moral standards. But this man has not yet learned this. In his honesty, he says Lord, it seems to me the easiest way for You to handle this problem of evil would be to slay the wicked. Why don't you do that?

Here is the case of a man who has felt God's hatred against sin but not yet God's love for the sinner. That is why, I think, he concludes with these words: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). Is he not saying, Lord, I don't understand this problem of evil? It appears to me the easiest way is for you to eliminate the evil person. But Lord, I also know that I don't think very clearly, and I don't often have the right answer. So Lord, in case I don't have the right remedy for this problem, let me add this prayer: 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Father, how desperately I need to be led through the complexities of my life. Help me not to settle for simple yet wrong solutions but to be willing to let You work out Your own purposes knowing that You have taken all the factors into consideration.

​

Life Application​

How much of our prayer time is occupied with petitions formed by our finite understanding? Is there a better way to pray? Have we yet felt God's love for sinners?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 12TH​

Hidden Faults​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 19

Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 19:12b-13

Forgive my hidden faults. Is that your prayer? Do you know what will happen when you pray that way? You might think that God will take a sponge and wipe around inside you so you will not even know what those hidden faults were. But God does not do that. His way of dealing with hidden faults is either to send somebody to point them out to you or to bring them out through some circumstance in which you are suddenly confronted with what you have done or said and you find that it is ugly and you do not like it. That is the way God cleanses us from hidden faults. He opens up the secret places.

Usually he does it through other people because, as God well knows, we cannot see ourselves, but other people can see us. These faults are hidden to us but not to others. They see them very plainly. And we can see their hidden faults better than they can. You know that you can see the faults of somebody you are thinking about right now better than that person can. You say, I don't see how that person can be so blind. Someone is thinking that very same way about you. That is why it is always proper to say, Lord, cleanse me from hidden faults. Help me to see myself through the eyes of a friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth.

And then, Keep me from willful sins. Willful sins are those in which you are confident that you have what it takes to do what God wants. Self-confidence is presumption. God never asks us to do anything on that basis. If we depend upon ourselves, we are acting presumptuously, and any activity that stems from self-confidence is a presumptuous sin. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For me to act as though there is anything that I can contribute is to be guilty of this kind of sin. The cure for this is dependence upon the activity of God in you as a believer. So David is praying, Lord, let me realize that without You I can do nothing. Help me to depend upon You to work through me. Then I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

Lord You speak to me through the world You have made and the Word You have spoken. Give me a teachable heart.

​

Life Application​

What are two crucial areas for our lives that need exposure? Are we open to praying about them and to allowing God to answer our prayers in His way?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 13TH​

Help From The Sanctuary​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 20

May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
Psalm 20:2

That is wonderful—help from the sanctuary! The sanctuary is always a picture of the place where we meet with God. In Israel it was the temple, the place where the Israelites came to get their thoughts straightened out, to get their thinking corrected. There they met with God, and there they heard the Word of God, the mind and thoughts of God.

In Psalm 73 the psalmist is deeply troubled by the prosperity of the wicked, that perennial problem that can still bother us: Why do the ungodly prosper while the righteous seem to be downtrodden all the time? This had upset him—until he finally went into the sanctuary. There he began to perceive their end. There he began to see the whole story; he began to see the full picture, and his thoughts were corrected. This is what the sanctuary does.

For us the sanctuary is the Scriptures. There is where we get help. It is there that our minds are illuminated, that we begin to see the world the way it is, not the way it appears to be. There is not one of us who has not already learned that life is not the way it seems to be, that what looks to be the answer and what we are convinced at first is the way things are often turns out to be exactly the opposite. Life is filled with illusion, with deceit; things are not what they appear to be. Doesn't your heart cry for somebody to tell you the truth, to tell you the way things really are, to open your eyes to what is going on? That is what the Bible does. And unless you are in the Scriptures, there is no help. May you find help in the sanctuary, in the Scriptures, is the psalmist's prayer, that your eyes might be enlightened and you might understand.

Help from the sanctuary and support from Zion. Zion is another name for Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom. In the Scriptures it stands as a symbol of the invisible kingdom of God with which we are surrounded, made up of ministering angels sent forth to serve those who are to be the heirs of salvation. In other words, all the invisible help that God can give you in the day of trouble, in the hour of pressure, is made available by prayer.

Remember that in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus was praying and sweating drops of blood in the height of His agony, an angel appeared and ministered to Him and strengthened Him. That angel was made visible to Him in order that we might be taught a lesson of what happens when we pray. I have gone into prayer depressed and defeated, but while I have prayed I have felt my spirits caught up, changed, and strengthened. I came out calm, at rest, and at peace. Why? Because I have received help from Zion.

Lord, there are far too many places I turn in times of trouble. Teach me to turn to your sanctuary for the help that I need.

​

Life Application​

Where do we turn when our hearts are troubled and our minds confused by all that is happening in our world? Where is a place of quiet confidence and rest?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 14TH​

The Suffering Savior​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 22:1a

In many ways this is the most amazing of all the psalms. In it we have a picture of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus painted by the psalmist David one thousand years before Jesus Christ was born. It constitutes one of the most amazing predictions of all time.

At least nine specific events or aspects of the crucifixion are described here in minute detail. All of them were fulfilled during the six hours in which Jesus hung upon the cross. Moreover, the latter part of the psalm clearly depicts the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The probability that the predictions of these nine events would be fulfilled by chance in one person, on one afternoon is inconceivably small. The chance that all this could occur by accident is beyond any realm of possibility our minds could imagine. Yet all was fulfilled as predicted in this amazing psalm.

It is common knowledge that on November 22, 1963, President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while riding down a Dallas street in a car. Suppose there had been in existence a document that predicted this event, and we knew it had been written in AD 963. That was about the time of the height of the Byzantine Empire, when most of the Western world was ruled from Constantinople, much of Europe was only sparsely inhabited by barbarian tribes, and America was not yet discovered.

Suppose that a document had been prepared in that ancient day that predicted that a time would come when a man of great prominence, head of a great nation, would be riding down a street of a large city in a metal chariot not drawn by horses and would suddenly and violently die as a little piece of metal hurled from a weapon made of wood and iron penetrated his brain. This weapon would be aimed at him from the window of a tall building, and his death would have worldwide effect and cause worldwide mourning. You can imagine with what awe such a document would be viewed today. Such a prediction would be similar to what we have in Psalm 22. That hypothetical prediction would have been made even before the invention of the automobile or firearms and five hundred years before the discovery of America. It would be regarded as fantastically accurate. Yet we have that very sort of thing in this psalm.

The psalm has two major divisions. The first twenty-one verses recount for us the torments of an unknown sufferer who is entirely alone and is crying out to God in His agony. Many scholars assert that these first twenty-one verses represent the thoughts that went through the mind of the Savior as He hung upon the cross and suffered there. From verse twenty-two to the end the sufferer is no longer alone but is in the midst of a large company and is praising God and shouting in victory. It ends with His claiming the worship of the entire world.

Lord Jesus, it is unfathomable to me what You endured on the cross. Thank You for Your willingness to suffer and die. I worship you as my Savior and Lord.

​

Life Application​

When Jesus became sin for us He endured unthinkable separation from the Father fulfilling amazing prophecy. What implication does that have for us today?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 15TH​

No Want​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 23:1

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Psalm 23:1

Because the Lord is my shepherd, I do not lack anything. He satisfies my needs. That is the place where God wants to bring us. He wants us to be independently dependent upon Him, to need Him alone. It struck me as I was studying this psalm that there are really only two options in life. If the Lord is my shepherd, then I shall not want; but if I am in want, then it is obvious that the Lord is not my shepherd. It is that simple. If emptiness, loneliness, despair, and frustration exist in our lives, then the Lord is not our shepherd. Or if anyone or anything else is shepherding us, we are never satisfied. If our vocation shepherds us, then there is restlessness and feverish activity and frustration. If education is our shepherd, then we are constantly being disillusioned. If another person is our shepherd, we are always disappointed, and ultimately we are left empty. If drug abuse is our shepherd, then we are wasted, as one rock artist said recently. But if the Lord is our shepherd, David says, we shall not want.

It occurs to me that if Jehovah is to be our shepherd, then we have to begin by recognizing that we are sheep. I don't like that analogy, frankly, because I don't like sheep. I come by my dislike honestly. I used to raise sheep. In high school I was in the 4-H Club, and I had a herd of sheep and goats. Now goats I can abide, because they may be obnoxious, but at least they're smart. Sheep are, beyond question, the most stupid animals on the face of the earth. They are dumb and they are dirty and they are timid and defenseless and helpless. Mine were always getting lost and hurt and snakebitten. They literally do not know enough to come in out of the rain. Sheep are miserable creatures.

And then to have God tell me that I am one! That hurts my feelings. But if I am really honest with myself, I know it is true. I know that I lack wisdom and strength. I'm inclined to be self-destructive. Isaiah said it best: We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). I know my tendency toward self-indulgent individualism, going my own way and doing my own thing. That's me. I'm a sheep. And if Jesus Christ is to be my shepherd, I have to admit that I need one. It is difficult, but that is where we must start. Once we admit that need, we discover the truth of what David is saying. We shall not want.

Lord, though I am a sheep who is prone to wander, come and be my shepherd today. Bring me to that place where I can say, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want

​

Life Application​

If emptiness, loneliness, despair, frustration, hopelessness, or wants exist in our lives, then the Lord is not our shepherd. Can we recognize His call to rescue us?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR OCTOBER 16TH​

Where Needs Are Met​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 23:2-3A

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
Psalm 23:2-3a

In this psalm David enumerates the ways in which the Good Shepherd meets our needs. The first thing He does is to meet the needs of the inner person, the basic needs that we have for nourishment within. The basic needs of a flock of sheep are grass and water. Here is the very picturesque scene of sheep bedded down in grassy meadows, having eaten their fill and now totally satisfied, and then being led by still waters.

Sheep are afraid of running water; they will drink only from a quiet pool. A good shepherd, particularly in a semi-arid region such as Palestine, knows where the watering holes are. He knows where the grassy meadows are. And so he leads the sheep into places where they can rest and feed and where they can drink. The picture is one of calm and tranquility, because the basic needs of the sheep are met.

The counterpart in our lives is obvious. It is God who restores the inner person through His Word. As we feed upon the Word of God we see the Lord Jesus there. We draw upon Him, and our inner person is satisfied. The Word of God brings us, first, to the person of Christ. Beyond the sacred page, the hymn says, we see thee, Lord. We see Him, and we eat and drink of Him, and we discover Him to be the resource that we need. As Paul says, Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our souls are restored. How? As we feed upon Him. As we come to know Him, believe what He says, and act on His word, we discover that the inner person is fed.

A Bible study I led met one evening a week in a fraternity house at Stanford University. Our basic assumption there was that the Bible is the authority. No one really taught the class; we simply opened up the Word, and the men in the group made observations. Last week a student from Austria sat in with us. He shared some of his thinking with us and made a real contribution to the group. Afterward, as we were leaving, he made this comment: I'm so thankful I could be here tonight, because I discovered that you men have found direct access to God through this book.
Have you discovered that access? In times of deep, dire need, when we cast about for help, it is no farther away than God's Word. Everything we need to nourish the inner person is right there. As Peter says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Everything we need that relates to life and to living godly lives in the world is available in Him. I wonder if we are employing that resource.

Lord, thank You for Your Word. May it be to me like green pastures and still waters, leaving me fully satisfied in You.

​

Life Application​

Are we learning to find green pastures and still waters in the written Words of God. Do we see there the Good Shepherd who is our Life?

Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

DEVOTION FOR TODAY — OCTOBER 17TH​

Guidance​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: PSALM 23:3B

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:3b

The Hebrew word translated paths means a well-defined, well-worn trail. That indicates again how stupid sheep are, because even when the trail is well laid out, they still need a shepherd. They are still inclined to wander away, no matter how obvious the path may be. The shepherd knows the trails. He has been there before, and the sheep trust him.

I think the most anxiety-producing factor in the world today is uncertainty about the future. What is going to happen tomorrow, and the next day? There are decisions we must make that bear not only upon our own lives but also upon the lives of everyone with whom we are associated. My life touches my family and my neighbors and my business associates. We are constantly making decisions. How do we know that we are making the right ones? Decisions can be crucial and frustrating!

A classic story tells about a man undergoing basic training in the army. He was pulling KP and was given the assignment of sorting potatoes. There was a huge mound of them, and the mess sergeant told him to put all the bad ones in one bin and all the good ones in the other bin. He came back about two hours later to find the man just looking at one potato. There was nothing in the bins. The sergeant said, What's the matter, don't you like the work? The soldier said, It's not the work; it's the decisions that are killing me.

I often feel that way. We have to make countless decisions, day after day, which touch the lives of our children and our wives and husbands. We need wisdom. We need a shepherd. We need someone who knows the trails, someone whom we can trust. We all need a decisive word from someone who knows the way, and the Lord knows the way. But the question arises--How can I discover His will for my life? May I suggest these steps?

First, submit wholeheartedly to the leadership of the shepherd. That is the basic attitude we must maintain. Unless we are willing to admit that we don't know the way through the wilderness and submit to His leadership, we will never find the way.
The second thing we must do is to obey what we know now to be God's will for us. Most of God's will is already revealed in His Word. We have to begin by obeying the truth that we have.

But what about other areas of life where the Scriptures do not give specific information? There we are led by the peace of God. As we spend time praying and waiting upon God, there comes a sense of peace, an inner conviction, about the correctness of a certain direction. The peace of God will umpire in our life and let us know what to do. When we move out on the basis of it, we discover that God supports and undergirds our actions and, through confirming circumstances, further strengthens our sense of peace.

Father, You have promised to lead me in paths of righteousness. Help me to be willing to follow, even when I don't understand.

​

Life Application​

The Good Shepherd does not drive His sheep. He tenderly guides them. What are two essentials by which we can discern His guidance?
Daily Devotion © 2006, 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries.