May 14

We have a tendency to look for our sufficiency within ourselves or even within others. We often talk about trusting God, but when it comes down to it, we place a lot of trust in what we can do me. David got it right when he said, “all human help is useless. With God’s help we will do mighty things” (Psalm 108:12&13). “If the Lord had not been on our side when people rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us.....Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.....Our help is from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth!” (124:2&3,5,8). In the New Testament, Jesus said, “without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Our strength, our wisdom, our hope, and our peace all come from the Lord.
David considered himself blessed in many ways and his gratitude toward God compelled him to live a life of praise. “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things” (103:2-5a). How often do we praise the Lord? Is it only when He has given us what we wanted? Is it only in those times we feel He has rescued us from our enemies? It is good to give praise to God in all our circumstances.
Though they were innocent of any wrongdoing, Paul and Silas were arrested, stripped of their clothing, severely beaten with wooden rods, and placed in an inner dungeon with their feet clamped in stocks (Acts 16:22-24). But, instead of complaining, instead of getting mad at God, and instead of questioning God’s sovereignty, the two were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Their example spoke volumes to their fellow prisoners about the power of the God they worshipped. May our example shine as brightly as theirs.