Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the
Bible.
The Wisdom of God
Verses for the Day:
Proverbs 15:15(KJV): "All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a
merry heart hath a continual feast."
Proverbs 15:15(Amp): "All the days of the desponding
afflicted are made evil (by anxious thoughts and foreboding), but he who has a glad heart
has a continual feast (regardless of circumstances).
Thoughts for the Day:
This verse in Proverbs states that
bad circumstances do not have to produce a bad attitude in a person. Difficult
circumstances do not have to produce an evil disposition. We can choose how we are going to react
to our circumstances. Some people allow their circumstances to rule them, instead of
allowing the Holy Spirit to rule them. Some people, all the days of their lives, will
experience evil days because they never have learned to overcome the devil's attacks of
evil, fear, worry and depression. When we accept Christ as our savior, one of the gifts we
receive from the Lord is the gift of joy. The joy that the Lord gives us goes beyond human
joy. A person who has the joy of the Lord can endure and overcome all adverse
circumstances without losing their joy. The reason for this is that God's joy comes from
the spirit and does not take outward stimulus to produce a merry heart. A person who is in
love with Jesus not only has that merry heart, but they have a continual feast of joy in
the Holy Ghost.
As a Christian, all we need to do to get our well of
joy flowing is to "prime the pump" just a little. The best way to overcome
despondency, worry and foreboding is to start praising God and thanking Him for all the
blessings He has given us. Instead of focusing on the evil things, we can turn our
attention to the blessings of God. In Christian circles, there is a little song that we
sing and the words are: Count your blessings, Name them one by one, Count your
blessings, See what God has done! (repeated twice). Many times, when I have
been tempted to get depressed and "down-in-the-mouth" about my unhappy
circumstances, I just start singing that little chorus and it perks me right up. Praising
God is a wonderful way to overcome depression and fear.
We should always have the attitude of praise and thanksgiving toward God in our hearts
no matter what kind of trial or trouble we are going through. The Bible tells us in 1
Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you." Now let us notice the Scripture says to praise God
in everything, not for everything. It is the will of God to always be
thankful. Everything that happens to us is not always the will of God.
One of the first things we need to know about God is that He is the source of all good
things. He loves us. In fact, the Scripture says He loved us so much He sent His son Jesus
to die for us so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We should not
believe in praising God for tragedies, for sickness, for bad things, yet we should believe
in praising Him in these circumstances. You see, the bad things did not come from God and
we don't want to blame the Lord for something the devil sent. Our God is not the author of
sickness, sin, tragedies, sorrow and heartache. The devil is the one who sends these
things and then tries to get us to blame them on the Lord.
If we belong to God, then the devil is off limits when he tries to bring sickness,
poverty, sorrow, fear or any other bad thing; we can use the name of Jesus against him and
he will flee. We can also use the weapon of praise; "praising God" no matter
what Satan is trying to do to us. We can say, "Lord, I love and worship You, no matter
what Satan is doing; I want You to know I love You, and Lord, I know You love me."
Satan will have to flee when we begin praising God because the Bible says the Lord
inhabits the praises of His people. "But thou art holy, O thou that
inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3).
The book of Psalms is a wonderful book of praises and songs to the
Lord. Some of the greatest Psalms of praises were written by David and recorded in Psalms
29, 30, 34 and 103. We can meditate on these words and find that
praise will lift our hearts from despair. Praise is one of the greatest weapons against
fear and loneliness. Worshipful songs and music can lift us up when we are depressed or
lonely. Praise can bring about our prayer answers for the Lord loves to fellowship with
and give to those with grateful hearts. The Lord's nature is one of joy, and therefore He
wants us to be joyful. We should be thankful and grateful for all He has done for us. His
sacrifice for our sins on the cross should be enough to make us eternally grateful and
cause us to praise Him for evermore!!
Prayer for
the Day:
Dear Father God, I am so thankful to be
called a child of God. Forgive me when I fall into the devil's trap of complaining
or worrying. Lord, help me to cast my cares upon You, for I know that You care for me.
Help me also to not allow contrary circumstances to get me down, but rather, may I
remember that I serve a mighty God Who is greater that my circumstances. I do praise
You, Lord, and when I think of all the things You have done for me over the years, I am
truly grateful. Fill me with Your joy, peace and love daily so that I might serve
You with a merry heart. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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