Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek

17 May 2024

Reading From Psalms 26, 40, 48, 61-62, 64

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.”

–Psalm 40:1-3

     When we call upon the Name of the Lord in faith, He is faithful to hear us and come to our aid.  Living without God is like floundering spiritually in a slimy pit filled with the muck and mire of our sins.  But when we dare to trust Jesus for our salvation, He lifts us up out of the darkness, washes us clean, clothes us with robes of righteousness and anoints us with His Holy Spirit.  The children of God are blessed with light for their path from His Word the Bible and His very Presence is with them wherever they go. 

     I believe the firm place to stand spoken of in Psalm 40 is Christ Jesus revealed to us by His Holy Spirit through His Word.  The light and hope brought to us fills our hearts with joy and causes us to sing!  Sometimes the joy is so overwhelming that we cannot contain it and we shout and dance before the Lord.  An important part of growing spiritually is opening our mouths and speaking the praises of God in our own words, from our own hearts.  It is beautiful to sing songs written by others that express how we feel ourselves, but there is great power in singing a new song to the Lord about what He means to us personally and exalting Him for who He is. 

     When God changes our lives and we are bold living for Him, it is a testimony to those around us.  A testimony is the story that one’s life tells, particularly concerning the positive changes that Christ has made in someone’s heart and sphere of influence.  Choosing to live according to the principles of God’s Word means making difficult decisions.  Do I satisfy the desires of my sinful nature or do I yield to the Spirit and live and move and have my being in Him?  The answer to that question determines how brightly the Light shines through me and influences others to come to Christ as I have.

“Lord, thank You so much for rescuing me from the dominion of darkness and bringing my into Your Kingdom of Light.  I pray that I will continue growing in my faith and living in the Light of Your love.  I am grateful for Your grace and mercy shown to me through the work of Jesus in my life.  May my life shine Your truth in such a way that makes others want to follow You as well.  I pray these things in the strong and mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

–Colossians 1:3-6