Daily Devotion-July 3, 2023

Daily Devotion-July 3, 2023

1 Peter 5:6-11

Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him by being firm in the faith. You know that the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood all over the world. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for not considering pride the problem for our anxiousness. It is, just as You had Peter record these words. We go through our days wanting everything to go and be a certain way we think is perfect for us. When it does not go as expected, watch out, world; we are about to have a bad day. And the snowball grows into an avalanche we are unaware of coming at us. Because we are so focused on what did not go our way, we can become unaware of Satan waiting for us to slip up in our suffering and attack us. He does not only want to bite us but also to devour and destroy our faith.

However, when we humble ourselves before You, we put our faith in You. In our humility, we trust that You will see us through whatever comes our way. We can think clearly, knowing that whatever is happening around us, You will see us through it, and it will be ok. When we stand firm with You in faith, knowing that You have already taken care of our most destructive problem—sin—there is nothing else we must concern ourselves with because Jesus went to the cross to remove all our sins, even those of worry.

As Peter wrote, we resist the devil by remaining firm in the faith, knowing what Jesus has done for us, and that You will restore, establish, strengthen, and support us in every situation until we reach our final rest in You. We also need to remember that we are not alone in this, but saints worldwide will suffer just as we suffer, but it is only for a little while.

Forgive us for Jesus’ sake when we do not humble and submit ourselves to Your love and mercy; please lift us at the appointed time according to Your word. Also, allow us to share these words of Your grace with others who do not know You so that they can cast their anxieties about the world and the worries about the end of this life on You, so they will trust Your care for them and believe Jesus has redeemed them. Amen.

Written through Pastor Roger Emmons

God has demonstrated your worth by giving his Son in your place to suffer your punishment. He will also keep you by faith in him; there, God is the greatest thing in your life, and if he is the greatest, every problem seems insignificant.