#011626

God, I am grateful for Your continual presence. I'm amazed that You delight in me! Thank You for seeing me not for my imperfections, but as Your child. Help me to never lose focus on You, Your guidance, and Your love. I want You to be the most important part of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God, I am in awe of You! The problems of the world around me can be frightening, but You are greater than my problems. I'm so grateful I can always count on You. Your will is perfect, and Your plans are good. Your power is perfected in my weakness, and it is greater than any situation I might face. Thank You for showing me Your faithfulness every day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

PSALMS 37:25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.

Spend a few moments thinking about God's faithfulness. How has He provided for you in the past? Keep that perspective in mind as you talk to Him about your concerns.

PSALMS 121:7-8 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

The God who created you is with you. Where do you need His protection today? Talk to Him about what you need, and make this verse your prayer for the day.

As you reflect on your prayer time, what do you need to let go of? And what do you need to press into more? Sit with those things for a few minutes. Don't leave this time until you're ready.

DAILY BIBLE READING: GENESIS 39-40 MATTHEW 11 JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR'S HOUSE 2The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. Potiphar's wife kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away. JOSEPH PUT IN PRISON the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. JOSEPH INTERPRETS TWO DREAMS “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region. “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me. “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! 12And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. 18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.” JUDGEMENT FOR THE UNBELIEVERS JESUS' PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

PSALM 119:30-41 DEVOTION FOR TODAY PSALM 119:30-41 30I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. 31I cling to your laws. Lord, don’t let me be put to shame! 32I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. He 33Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. 34Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. 35Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. 36Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! 37Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. 38Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. 39Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. 40I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.

INSIGHT The image of “walking” is one of Scripture’s most common metaphors for describing someone’s lifestyle—whether in close fellowship with God (see Genesis 5:24; 6:9; Psalm 1:1; 15:1-2) or in opposition to Him (Proverbs 4:14; 1 John 1:6). Psalm 119 begins with this metaphor, emphasizing that “those . . . who walk according to the law of the Lord” are blessed (v. 1). The psalm paints a vivid picture of what it looks like to walk closely with God through immersion in and obedience to Scripture. In verse 32, this imagery intensifies as the psalmist shifts from describing walking to running—suggesting not just steady obedience but an eager pursuit of God’s ways. Unlike those whose feet “rush into evil” (see Proverbs 1:16; 6:18), the psalmist in Psalm 119:32 runs in joyful freedom down the path of God’s commands, liberated by His grace and captivated by His beauty.

APPLICATION:

Spend at least 5 minutes in silence today before sleeping to ask the Lord in prayer and listen to what He wants me to pursue within this week.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will help me obey whatever God will tell me to do.

Thank the Lord next Friday and review what happened to the action plan. Give back the glory to God for the fruit of the Holy Spirit's work in my life after I obey.

AN ENLARGED HEART In his Confessions, Augustine wrestled with how it was possible for God to be in relationship with him. How could the one who created the universe come into something as small and sinful as his heart? But he pleaded with God to make it possible, praying, “The house of my soul is narrow. Enlarge it, so that you may enter it. It’s in ruins! Repair it! It has things in it that would offend your eyes. I confess and know it. But who will cleanse it, or to whom will I cry, but to you?”

Today we know Augustine as Saint Augustine, a revered philosopher and theologian. But he saw himself simply as someone transformed by the wonder of a God who wanted to know him.

In Psalm 119, the psalmist is also in awe of God’s revelation of Himself, particularly through Scripture (v. 18). “You shall enlarge my heart” (v. 32 nkjv), the psalmist celebrated. It’s only because God is graciously willing to enlarge our hearts that we can joyfully walk the path He shows us (v. 45). He turns our hearts away from what is corrupt (vv. 36-37) to the “path of [His] commands,” where we find His infinite “delight” (v. 35).

We are small, and our hearts are fickle. But when we turn our longing hearts to God (vv. 34, 36), He guides us down the paths of joy and true freedom.

By: Monica La Rose

REFLECT AND PRAY Reflect & Pray How has God “enlarged” Your heart? Where might you need to ask Him to bring growth?

Dear God, thank You for opening my heart to Your greatness. Please enlarge my heart today and every day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH Sometimes, well-meaning people try to make bad things seem better by saying, “If we never had bad experiences, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the good experiences.” That may or may not be true. But someday, in the future that God offers us, every source of pain will be completely erased from our lives.

Today’s verse is Revelation 21:4, which says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Today, this week, or this month might be terrible—but at the end of the story of Christianity, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” There will be no more mental health issues in the New Earth. There will be no more anxiety, no more depression, no more self-harm, no more suicidal ideation, no more trauma, no more broken relationships, no more hate—because we will be living in an unbroken world in perfect communion with God.

But we still live in the midst of these things. So for now, we join Jesus in praying to the Father “your kingdom come, your will be done,” and we partner with Him to help bring these eternal realities into the world here and now.