Fretting…Or Committing?
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. . . . Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:1, 5
There are no troubles that distress the mind and wear upon the nerves as do borrowed troubles. The Psalmist said, “Fret not thyself . . .” The implication is that fretting, complaining, and distress of mind are often self-manufactured and can best be coped with by a change of attitude and transformation of thought.
You cannot allay a baby’s anxiety by giving him a rattle when he is hungry. He will keep on crying until his hunger is satisfied by the food his little body demands. Neither can the soul of a mature man be satisfied apart from God. David described the hunger of all men when he said: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1). The Prodigal Son, who had to learn life’s lessons by painful experience, said: “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Luke 15:17).
Two conflicting forces cannot exist in one human heart. When doubt reigns, faith cannot abide. Where hatred rules, love is crowded out. Where selfishness rules, there love cannot dwell. When worry is present, trust cannot crowd its way in.
The very best prescription for banishing worry is found in Psalm 37:5: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” The word commit means to turn over to, to entrust completely.
Some years ago someone gave my little boy a dollar. He brought it to me and said, “Daddy, keep this for me.” But in a few minutes he came back and said, “Daddy, I’d better keep my own dollar.” He tucked it in his pocket and went out to play. In a few minutes he came back with tears in his eyes, saying, “Daddy, I lost my dollar. Help me find it.” How often we commit our burdens to the Lord and then fail to trust Him by taking matters into our own hands. Then, when we have messed things up, we pray, “Oh, Lord, help me. I’m in trouble.”
The choice is yours. Do you want to trust your life in God’s “pocket” or keep it in your own?
Our Father and our God, please forgive my doubt and fear. Take away my faithlessness, my selfishness, and my worry. Help me to put my trust totally in You. I commit myself to You, O Lord, and I pray for the courage to remain in Your care. Please take control of my life and lead me safely home to You through Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Fountain Of Life
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Psalm 36:9
The more knowledge we acquire, the less wisdom we seem to have. The more economic security we gain, the more boredom we generate. The more worldly pleasure we enjoy, the less satisfied and contented we are with life. We are like a restless sea, finding a little peace here and a little pleasure there, but nothing permanent and satisfying. So the search continues! Men will kill, lie, cheat, steal, and go to war to satisfy their quest for power, pleasure, and wealth, thinking thereby to gain for themselves and their particular group peace, security, contentment, and happiness.
Yet inside us a little voice keeps saying, “We were not meant to be this way—we were meant for better things.” We have a mysterious feeling that there is a fountain somewhere that contains the happiness which makes life worthwhile. We keep saying to ourselves that somewhere, sometime we will stumble onto the secret. Sometimes we feel that we have obtained it—only to find it elusive, leaving us disillusioned, bewildered, and unhappy.
The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment that fills the soul even in the midst of the most distressing of circumstances and the most adverse environment.
Near my home is a spring that never varies its flow at any season of the year. Floods may rage nearby, but it will not increase its flow. A long summer’s drought may come, but it will not decrease. It is perennially and always the same. Such is the type of happiness for which we yearn—and it can be found in Christ alone!
Have you discovered this spring yet?
Our Father and our God, You are the living water that quenches eternal thirst. You are the fountain that bubbles up in joy and peace. Lead me daily, Father, to the fountain. Help me to drink deeply of Your happiness, to be refreshed from the spring of hope that is Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Behind The Clouds
Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Psalm 36:5
My home is on a mountain nearly four thousand feet high. Many times we can see below us the clouds in the valley. Some mornings we wake up to find that we are in lovely sunshine, but that the valley below is covered with clouds. At other times thunderstorms come up, and we can see the lightning flash and hear the thunder roar down below, while we are enjoying beautiful sunlight and clear skies above.
Many times I have sat on our rustic front porch and watched the clouds below. I have thought of the clouds of discouragement and suffering that temporarily veil the sunlight of God’s love from us. Many people live with a cloud hanging over their lives. Some may be in hospital beds; others are suffering discouragement and bereavement. A heavy cloud hangs over them.
The Bible has a great deal to say about clouds. For they sometimes symbolize the spiritual forces which obscure the face of God. The Bible indicates that clouds are given to us for a purpose and that there is glory in the clouds and that every cloud has a silver lining. It is written in Exodus 16:10, “They looked . . . and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.” Without the clouds there would be no lavish sunsets, no rain, no light, no beautiful, picturesque landscapes.
Charles Kingsley sensed this truth when he wrote: “No cloud across the sun but passes at the last and gives us back the face of God once more.” Longfellow also saw meaning in life’s clouds when he said: “Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; behind the clouds is the sun still shining.”
The Bible says that God was in the cloud and that He spoke to His people through a cloud. The Lord said, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud” (Exodus 19:9). Again, God called to Moses “out of the midst of the cloud” (Exodus 24:16). There are clouds in our lives shadowing, refreshing, and oftentimes draping them in the blackness of night, but there is never a cloud without its bright light.
Our Father and our God, I search for Your light behind the clouds of my life. I long to see beyond my troubles to the brilliance of Your face. I know You are there, Lord, even when the clouds are all I can see. I trust You, Father, no matter what happens, because of Jesus, who brought the light to me. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Christian’s Secret Of Joy
My soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in his salvation.
Psalm 35:9
When Jesus Christ is the source of joy, there are no words that can describe it. It is a joy “inexpressible and glorious” (1 Peter 1:8 NIV). Christ is the answer to the sadness and discouragement, the discord and division in our world.
Christ can take discouragement and despondency out of our lives. Optimism and cheerfulness are products of knowing Him.
The Bible says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV).
If the heart has been attuned to God through faith in Christ, then its overflow will be joyous optimism and good cheer.
Out West an old sheepherder had a violin, but it was out of tune. He had no way of tuning it, so in desperation he wrote to one of the radio stations and asked them at a certain hour on a certain day to strike the tone A. The officials of the station decided they would accommodate the old fellow, and on that particular day the true tone of A was broadcast. His fiddle was thus tuned, and once more his cabin echoed with joyful music.
If we live our lives in tune with the Master, we, too, will find ourselves surrounded by His beautiful music.
Our Father and our God, You are the music of my soul. I praise You for the joy and peace of life that I find through Jesus, Your Son. Please help me to tune my heart continually to Your will and to live my life in harmony with Your plan for my life. I love You and Christ, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Broken Hearts, Mended Spirits
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18
Before I can become wise, I must first realize that I am foolish. Before I can receive power, I must first confess that I am powerless. I must lament my sins before I can rejoice in a Savior. Mourning, in God’s sequence, always comes before exultation. Blessed are those who mourn their unworthiness, their helplessness, and their inadequacy.
Isaiah, the mighty prophet of God, knew by experience that one must bow the knee in mourning before one can lift the voice in jubilation. When his sin appeared ugly and venomous in the bright light of God’s holiness, he said: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).
We cannot be satisfied with our goodness after beholding the holiness of God. But our mourning over our unworthiness and sinfulness should be of short duration, for God has said: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43:25).
Isaiah had to experience the mourning of inadequacy before he could realize the joy of forgiveness. If I have no sense of sorrow for sin, how can I know the need of repentance?
In God’s company, a person must go down into the valley of grief before he or she can scale the heights of spiritual glory. One must become tired and weary of living without Christ before he or she can see and find His fellowship. One must come to the end of “self ” before one can really begin to live.
Our Father and our God, I am engulfed by sorrow and mourning for my intolerable sin. I am unworthy; I am helpless; I am inadequate even to approach You. And yet I claim Your promise, Lord, to forgive me for all my faithlessness and failure. Cover me with Your grace and mercy through Christ, the One who died for me. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
A Gull From God
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalm 34:7
During World War II, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and the rest of the crew of the B-17 in which he was flying ran out of fuel and “ditched” in the Pacific Ocean. For weeks nothing was heard of him. The newspapers reported his disappearance, and across the country thousands of people prayed. Mayor LaGuardia asked the whole city of New York to pray for him. Then he returned. The Sunday papers headlined the news, and in an article, Captain Rickenbacker himself told what had happened. “And this part I would hesitate to tell,” he wrote, “except that there were six witnesses who saw it with me. A gull came out of nowhere, and lighted on my head. I reached up my hand very gently—I killed him and then we divided him equally among us. We ate every bit, even the little bones. Nothing ever tasted so good.” This gull saved the lives of Rickenbacker and his companions. Years later I asked him to tell me the story personally, because it was through this experience that he came to know Christ. He said, “I have no explanation except that God sent one of His angels to rescue us.”
During my ministry I have heard or read literally thousands of similar stories. Could it be that these were all hallucinations or accidents or fate or luck? Or were real angels sent from God to perform certain tasks? I prefer to believe the latter.
Our Father and our God, Lord of Hosts, I bow at Your holy throne. I pray for You to send Your ministering spirits to protect me from my enemies. I cannot live in this dark world without being surrounded by angels of light. Hold me in Your mighty hand because I am Your child through Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Christ In The Crisis
For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.
Philippians 4:13 TLB
A friend told me the story of a nonbelieving friend of his who came to him in the midst of a very troubled day. Knowing that my friend is a Christian, the man asked him, “If I get born again, will all of my problems go away?”
“No,” said my friend, “but you will have the power to deal with them.”
Think about that. Our problems won’t go away, but we will have the power to deal with them. The power to deal with problems produces a muscular Christian who is capable of doing combat with the evil one. If we could dismiss all of our problems with a single stroke, we would be the most shallow of individuals. We would be spiritual “wimps” unable to fight our way out of wet paper bags!
The prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is perhaps the greatest prayer ever uttered. Our Lord asked that this cup of crucifixion, which was about to be thrust upon Him, might be taken away. But then, in the very next breath He said, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). What a prayer! What strength! What power!
When the apostle Paul asked God to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” God did not remove it, saying instead, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Christ desires to be with you in whatever crisis you may find yourself. Call upon His name. See if He will not do as He promised He would. He may not make your problems go away, but He will give you the power to deal with and overcome them.
Our Father and our God, I need Your strength. I cannot deal with the problems in my life without Your power. I trust You to be with me through hard times. Increase my faith, and give me the courage and patience to live one day at a time in Your grace. Through Christ, who brought that grace to me. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Triumph Out Of Tragedy
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
The playwright William Shakespeare wrote numerous classics, some of which are called “tragedies.” Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet are only some of Shakespeare’s more classic tragedies.
Have you ever thought why these plays depict tragedy, indeed, why the stories are, themselves, tragic? It is because in each instance, the characters are victims of their own circumstances and are powerless to free themselves from them.
Not so for the Christian. We have the power to triumph over tragedy, even in situations which might seem hopeless and unredeemable in the world. The key to understanding tragedy is to understand its source.
Death and pain and tragedy came into the world because of sin. Many people blame God for tragedy, but James tells us that “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.” Tragedy is a result of sin having entered the world.
But Christ has triumphed over tragedy, and He wants us to do the same because in such triumph God is glorified. Indeed, triumphing over tragedy is a form of witness for Christ. When something tragic happens to us—the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job—unbelievers watch us closely to see whether we react differently than they would. If there is no difference, if we despair as unbelievers might, how is God honored? How do we testify of Christ and His power?
Remember, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Our Father and our God, thank You for bringing hope and forgiveness to dispel the sin in my life. Help me to triumph over the inevitable tragedies of life through trust and faith in You. Let my joy in the midst of despair honor and glorify You through Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Joy In The Midst Of Trials
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2
Where did we ever get the idea that the Christian life is to be a carefree life without trials?
When trials come, we sometimes act as if God is out of town on vacation. We question God: Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? After all, I attend church regularly, give liberally of my tithes and offerings, and have told others about Christ. So why am I going through this difficult circumstance?
Read the promises of Scripture for the answer. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” He didn’t say that you could have tribulation or that if you aren’t a good person, tribulation will come your way. Jesus flatly stated that you will have tribulation. It is as certain as growing older.
Jesus also said that if He was persecuted, you are going to be persecuted, too, because “no servant is greater than his master.” Actually, people are not so much persecuting you as they are persecuting the Christ in you.
But the wonderful promise of Christ is that while you will have trials and tribulations, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” So Jesus is saying that while people are persecuting you (or persecuting Jesus in you), don’t worry about it. He has already overcome the world, the source of your trials and tribulations.
Have you ever had to worry about a financial debt, only to be told not to worry about it, that someone else would pay the expense? It is a remarkably freeing experience.
That is precisely the experience and attitude God wants us to have in the midst of our trials. God wants us to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He has already overcome similar trials and tribulations and will give us the power to do the same. He waits only to be asked.
Our Father and our God, when trials and persecutions come to me, I pray that You will give me grace and patience to endure them with joy. Help me to live in a way that pleases You, that makes a powerful testimony to those around me that my God is alive and caring for me. Help me to look to Jesus for strength. In His name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
What Is Faith?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for . . .
Hebrews 11:1
Faith must have an object. Faith in faith is meaningless. Telling a person to believe without giving him any evidence or reason for belief is like asking a person to believe that the moon is made of green cheese.
God wants us to know certain facts about Him so that we will have faith in Him and trust Him for the rest.
A child does not repeatedly ask his parents whether he will be taken to a doctor if he becomes ill or whether there will be another meal to eat (at least, not very often in our culture). The reason he does not ask such questions is that his parents have proven to him over and over again that they love him enough to take care of his needs.
It is the same with God. God has proven His love for us in that even while we were yet sinners, He sent Christ to die for us. And He continually proves how much He loves us by providing for our daily needs.
God also wants us to trust that He will continue to provide for us. This is faith. How happy would a parent be if his child constantly questioned him as to whether his needs would be met? The parent would feel frustrated and sad, perhaps angry that the child did not trust him.
There are scores of references to faith, about what it can do for us and how much it pleases God. Jesus was amazed that the Roman soldier expressed great faith when he told Jesus just to “say the word” and his servant would be healed. Christ also told a blind man and a sick woman, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
God values faith, our trust in Him, above every other character quality that a Christian can develop. And how do we develop faith? We do it by spending time in the presence of God through prayer and by applying His Word and His promises to our everyday lives. That way, our faith grows and God is well pleased. And when God is pleased, so are we.
Our Father and our God, I put my faith in You and You alone. I know that You are faithful to protect and provide for me and that I can trust You and Your timing. Help my faith to grow, O God. Make me spiritually whole through my faith in You and Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
God Is Love, But…
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
There is a tendency to focus only on the love of God to the exclusion of the other side of God’s nature. Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord.
God loves, but He also hates. In fact, love would be sentimental were it not for its opposite, hate. We are told in the Scriptures that God hates divorces, that He hates liars, a proud and haughty look, and all other manifestations of sin. God has promised to judge sin with the fierceness of his wrath (see Proverbs 6:16–19).
David said, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). It is easy to see from this verse that God does not take sin lightly.
We live in an age when sin is winked at and where God is treated as one who is indulgent, soft-hearted and understanding, and tolerant of those who break His commandments. People today find it difficult to believe that God hates anything, much less sin.
Dr. Karl Menninger correctly observed the absence of a concept of sin in our contemporary culture when he wrote the book Whatever Became of Sin? I will tell you that God has not forgotten about sin, though some men may be pretending it does not exist.
The reason God hates sin is that it is sin which, left unforgiven, sends men and women out into a timeless eternity in hell. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to a knowledge of Him.
What are you doing about sin? Have you confessed your sin to God and received Christ as your Savior? If you are already a Christian, have you let sin creep back into your life so that you are no longer a vessel of honor to God?
Confess your sin today. Don’t wait. Receive God’s forgiveness and restoration so that you might be of use to Him and enjoy His love.
Our Father and our God, faithful and righteous Judge, I come before You in repentance and sorrow. I never want to sin against You, O Lord, and yet I miss the mark so often. Please forgive me, Father, and never let me go. When I start to stray, reach out Your hand and pull me gently back to the Way. Through Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Forgiven Sinners
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Psalm 32:1
In England a sensitive boy joined the British army, but when the shot and shell began to fly, he deserted. In time he became a great astronomer and discovered a new planet. He was sent for by King George, but the man realized that his life was forfeit to the king for his desertion. The king knew him too; what would he do? Before the king would see him, the man was requested to open an envelope. It was his royal pardon. The king brought him in and said, “Now we can talk, and you shall come up and live at Windsor Castle.” He was Sir William Herschel.
William Herschel was guilty and did not deny it! But King George had mercy upon him and made him a member of the royal household. That is what God promises to do for us. “And he will have mercy upon him . . . for he will abundantly pardon.” To all of us poor, lost, wanton sinners the Bible says, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though him might be saved.”
The “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, says of this verse:
God, who cannot lie—God, who cannot err—tells us what it is to be blessed. Here He declares that “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” This is an oracle not to be disputed. Forgiven sin is better than accumulated wealth. The remission of sin is infinitely to be preferred before all the glitter and the glare of this world’s prosperity. The gratification of creature passions and earthly desires is illusive—a shadow and a fiction; but the blessedness of the justified, the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness is substantial and true.
In Psalm 32:2 David sums it up for me when he says, “Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (NIV). I’m sure Sir William Herschel would say Amen! to that.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Dying Words Of Christians
Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
Psalm 31:5 NIV
Death for the righteous is distinctly different from what it is for the unbeliever. It is not something to be feared, nor is it to be shunned. It is the shadowed threshold to the palace of God. No wonder Paul declared, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23 NIV).
Most Christians have a triumphant spirit in the way they face death. Some of the statements made and recorded from deathbeds are absolutely thrilling:
“Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation. God is the Lord by whom we escape death.” —Martin Luther
“Live in Christ, die in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death.” —John Knox
“The best of all is, God is with us.” —John Wesley
“I have pain—but I have peace, I have peace.” —Richard Baxter
Augustus Toplady, the composer of “Rock of Ages,” was jubilant and triumphant as he lay dying at the age of thirty-eight. “I enjoy heaven already in my soul,” he declared. “My prayers are all converted into praises.”
When Joseph Everett was dying he said, “Glory! Glory! Glory!” and he continued exclaiming glory for over twenty-five minutes.
In my own life I have been privileged to know what some of the dying saints said before they went to heaven. My grandmother sat up in her bed, smiled, and said, “I see Jesus, and He has His hand outstretched to me. And there is Ben, and he has both of his eyes and both of his legs.” (Ben, my grandfather, had lost a leg and an eye at Gettysburg.)
There was an old Welsh grocer who lived near us, and my father was at his side when he was dying. He said, “Frank, can you hear that music? I’ve never heard such music in all my life—the orchestras, the choirs, angels singing”—and then he was gone.
Our Father and our God, I want to face death with joy and anticipation. Help my life to end with peace as I see the sweet face of Jesus welcoming me home to heaven. Make my song of death a jubilant Psalm of praise. Let those who are with me when I die see a reflection of Your peace and promised hope in my eyes. Through Jesus, my Savior. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
A Lifetime Of Favor
For His anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. . . .
Psalm 30:5A NASB
We may suffer affliction or discipline, yet the Psalmist went on to say, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b NASB).
In order for a tree or any plant to grow and bear fruit, its seed must first be planted in the ground and die. In order for fruit to appear in our lives, we must first be planted in the Word of God and then die to self. In the face of chastening, adversity, discipline, and affliction, fruit begins to appear.
This process, like steel which has been tempered and made strong by the heat of a furnace, makes us useful to God. But what baby is sent out to fight a battle? The baby must first grow in strength, in size, and in wisdom before he is able to fight. It is the same for those whom God wishes to use.
Joseph would never have been of use to God had he not been sold into slavery by brothers who hated him and wrongly accused by Potiphar, who put him in prison. Even after he had told Pharaoh’s cupbearer he would be restored to the king’s court and asked him to tell Pharaoh of his unjust imprisonment, Joseph had to wait two more years for release from prison.
All of this was God’s preparation for Joseph’s ultimate rise to a position of power and authority second only to that of Pharaoh himself, a position he used to feed all of Israel during a famine.
As we wait upon the Lord, God may sometimes seem slow in coming to help us, but He never comes too late. His timing is always perfect. How could it not be so from a God who favors us, as we do our children, for a lifetime?
Our Father and our God, please teach me to wait patiently on Your timing for my life. I want to follow the plan You have laid out for me. I want to be who You want me to be. Give me peace of mind while I wait for You. I cling to Jesus, the perfect example of patient suffering. In His holy name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Strength Through Suffering
Ascribe to the LORD. O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psalm 29:1 RSV
Recently I received a letter from a woman who was suffering on a hospital bed in the last stages of cancer. She did not ask that God would relieve her of her suffering or raise her up, but only that we would pray that God’s grace would be sufficient through the trial of suffering.
The Bible teaches that human suffering is inescapable. We must accept it as an integral part of life. Job said, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Our life has its beginning in suffering. Life’s span is marked by pain and tragedy, and our lives end with the enemy called death. The person who expects to escape the pangs of suffering and disappointment simply has no knowledge of the Bible, of history, or of life.
The master musician knows that suffering precedes glory and acclaim. He knows the hours, days, and months of grueling practice and self-sacrifice that precede the one hour of perfect rendition when his efforts are applauded. The master craftsman knows that years of work, sacrifice, and suffering as an apprentice precede his being promoted to the master of his trade. The student knows that years of study, self-denial, and commitment precede the triumphant day of graduation with honors. Astronauts spend years training for a flight that can be as short as a few days.
The Bible teaches that suffering is a part of life in a sinful world. Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
To this dear woman on her hospital bed I would say, “Look toward heaven, look beyond the clouds, and you will see that the sufferings that we are undergoing here are nothing compared to the glory that God has prepared for you yonder.”
Our Father and our God, my help in time of trouble, I ascribe to You glory and honor. It is You who teaches me patience in the face of problems. It is You who holds me up when I fall down. It is You for whom I long and love. Help me to be ready, Lord, when You come to take me home with You forever. In Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
God Is Our Strength
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1
Because it is a fact that the Lord is my light and my salvation, why should I be afraid? The Scripture reference is a statement of fact followed by a question.
Is the comic strip and movie character Superman afraid of anything? No, because he has superhuman strength. For the Christian, the Lord is our strength (Psalm 28:7), and the Lord fears nothing, so why should we be afraid? The Scripture also declares that God is a “very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
A friend tells the story of having spoken one evening at a church service inside a prison. It was New Year’s Eve, and as he and his wife drove home from the prison at one o’clock in the morning, the car developed engine trouble and stopped.
Despite their efforts, they could not get it going. They were stranded in a remote area with no telephone and the cold wind adding to their distress.
As they wondered what to do, a car came along and stopped. The driver offered to take them to a telephone where they could call for help. The car happened to be a yellow Rolls Royce. God also has a sense of humor!
God is able—indeed, He is eager—to deliver us from all sorts of trouble. He wants to give us strength to overcome the temptation to sin, which separates Him from those He loves.
We do not have to sin. God will help us overcome it. But we have to ask for it, and we must stay close to God so that He can give us His strength.
When was the last time you asked God to deliver you from some temptation and then determined, with His help, to succeed?
Our Father and our God, You are my strength. You are my anchor in troubled waters. You are my Light in this dark world of sin. Because of Your love and grace, I am not afraid to live. I am not afraid to die. Deliver me from the devil’s temptations and subtle tricks to win me away from You. Help me to stay close to You through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Taking Advantage Of Adversity
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
There was a popular song years ago that contained the lyrics “I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden.”
God, of course, did create for man a beautiful Garden of Eden, a state of perfection in which man could live free of any want. But man sinned against God, and God removed him from the Garden. Yet, even now, God has promised to deliver us from all our adversities.
There are two ways to respond to adversity. We can give in and be depressed, or we can triumph over it and be joyful. The problem with giving in and being depressed is that the adversities do not go away and, indeed, seem to grow worse.
One of the best ways to overcome adversity is to praise God in the midst of your turmoil. Begin to sing to God or read the Psalms out loud. Meditate on Scripture, particularly passages like Romans 8:2–39, which includes this wonderful assurance: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Remember that our hope is not based on circumstance. “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. . . . On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Besides, as another song says, “If I never had a problem, how would I know that God could solve them? How would I know what faith in God could do?”
It is through our adversities that we learn to trust in Jesus, and through trusting, to triumph over them.
Look upon adversities as opportunities from God to grow in your faith and to become a stronger servant of His.
Our Father and our God, I praise You for Your constancy. I praise You for Your grace and mercy. And I thank You for Your selfless love that rescued me from death through the cross of Christ. You alone are worthy to be praised, O God. You are my hope and my song. Through Your Son’s precious name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Until Divorce Us Do Part
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Ephesians 5:28
Thousands of times a day a man and a woman stand before an American clergyman or magistrate to be united in marriage. In virtually every ceremony they vow to remain married “until death us do part.”
Tragically, one out of two of these vows will never be fulfilled because divorce now parts one out of every two married couples. A recent Census Bureau report found that for women in their thirties, 60 percent of them can expect to be divorced. Sixty percent!
There are three elements to a successful marriage, and each needs to be present if a marriage is to succeed. The first is love. Unfortunately, love has been redefined by Hollywood and television to mean something that is only physical, only feelings. But the apostle Paul defined love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13. Read it and you will know how God defined love. Men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. What woman could not respond and submit to such a selfless expression of Christ-like love?
Maturity is the second important ingredient in a successful marriage. Too many are getting a divorce at the first sign of trouble. God will give you the maturity to handle your problems even in what seems like a “wrong marriage” if you’ll let Him. He will do this because God hates divorce.
Third, faith must be an ingredient for a marriage to be successful. Marriage is difficult enough these days with all of life’s pressures, but without Christ at the center of a marriage and a home, it becomes even more difficult.
Determine to put Christ at the center of your individual lives and then at the center of your marriage and it cannot fail. Be faithful in your Bible reading and prayer time . . . together . . . as a family . . . and you will build a fortress around your marriage that can withstand any storm.
Our Father and our God, I strip off my selfishness, my pride, my fear, and lay them at the altar. Please take these things away from me so that my marriage and my home may be pure and strong. Give me gentleness, kindness, patience, and love in their place. And please give me the faith and courage to defend my family against Satan’s dangerous tricks. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Death And Taxes
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Proverbs 14:32
Someone once observed that there are only two great equalizers in life: death and taxes. Actually, that person was only half-right, because some people manage to avoid paying taxes at all, either because of loopholes in the tax law or because they do not make enough money.
The only true equalizer is death.
Everyone dies.
The writer of Hebrews says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Much of the world pretends that death does not exist. We like to speak of the dead as “departed” or persons who have died as having “passed on” or “expired.” We do not like the word death. It seems so final, so irreversible, so hopeless.
But not for the person who has trusted Christ as Savior. Death is only the beginning of the beginning, not the end.
C. S. Lewis once observed that this life is only “shadowlands” compared with the glory that is to come.
There is a wonderful song which says, “It’s as though we see through clouded glass; our eyes cannot see past this veil of tears, our present pain. This world can never comprehend a love that will not end, the life that always will remain. For there, beyond the edge of time, is wisdom so divine, the throne of truth, the shining way. And soon in majesty He’ll come, to take his people home, and in that bright and glorious day . . . we will see Him as He is, the Father God so holy, the truth in endless glory; we will see Him as He is, the wisdom of the ages, the love that died to save us. We will see Him.”
What a glorious thought with which we can comfort ourselves, no matter what our circumstances. We will see Christ someday if we have put our faith in Him.
Our Father and our God, I long for the day when I will behold the magnificent face of Jesus, my Lord. I can’t imagine the thrill of being in Your awesome presence, but I dream of singing Your glorious praises throughout eternity. Thank You for saving me through Your grace and the blood of Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
A Refuge In Time Of Trouble
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
The one hundredth anniversary in 1986 of the Statue of Liberty was a glorious experience and a reminder that America is an immigrant nation. Nearly all of us can trace our roots to another land.
After the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of immigrants came to America as refugees. Many more went to other free countries. The refugees were looking for safe havens for themselves and their families, away from wars and hunger and need. America has provided a safe haven for millions, a place where immigrants can pursue their hopes and dreams.
Like the torch held by the Lady in the harbor, God’s light shines to signify that He is a refugee for all who wish to flee from the storms of life, “a helper in the time of storms,” as the hymn says.
My wife once heard this story about a poor woman who went up to the foothills in a Chinese town to cut the grass. Her baby was tied to her back and a little child walked beside her. In her hand was a sickle to cut the grass.
Just as she reached the top of a hill, she heard a roar. Frightened, she turned and saw a mother tigress springing at her, followed by her two cubs.
The illiterate Chinese woman had never attended school or church, but a missionary once told her about Jesus, “who is able to help you when you are in trouble.” As the tiger’s claws tore into her arm, the woman cried out, “O Jesus, help me!” The tiger, instead of attacking again, suddenly turned and ran away.
The Bible says, “He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11 RSV).
What “beasts” are attacking you? Chances are you will never be attacked by a wild beast, but you will be attacked by doubts, by fears of other kinds, by worry, by loneliness, by despair.
Cry out to Jesus and He will answer you just as surely as the Chinese woman’s desperate cry was heard and answered.
Our Father and our God, hear my plea! I am in trouble, and only You can save me. Please send Your angels to protect me. Surround me with Your strength. You are the fortress for my soul, my city of refuge. I run to You for comfort and shelter. Through Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).