Tag Archives: mistreatment

April 18 – Out of the Darkness

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Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63

When you read these psalms you can almost hear the sadness in David’s voice. Life is not being fair. He is in despair. His enemies are real and fighting hard to destroy him. For no reason.

But you can also get a sense of the trust David has in God. David is not without hope. You can read about his torment. But listen to his words of faith:

17:15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I wake.

35:28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.

35:54 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. 

And here is the key to what I believe is David’s ability to completely trust God during the worst time of his life, during his darkest hours:

63:1  O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

If you don’t read anything else today, I hope you’ll read Psalm 63. If you are beaten down by the cares of this world, if you are being treated unfairly, if it seems like Satan is winning the war, turn your eyes toward Jesus.

The more you dwell on the problems in your life, the more power they have over you.

Does your soul thirst for God, or for something else? Does your flesh yearn for God? David tells us God’s lovingkindness is better than life itself. Do you believe that?

Allow yourself to rest in the shadow of His wing. Cling to God because His right hand can hold you up through these dark days. You’ll begin to see the light because Jesus tells us HE is the Light of the World. He’s the light of YOUR world.

When you take your eyes off the problem, when you spend time in God’s Word and allow Him to carry you, the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of the Savior’s glory and grace.

My Dear Comforter, I pray for hurting people today. I thank You that You inspired David to write these beautiful psalms that express what many of us are going through thousands of years later. And I thank You that David reminds us that You are able. You are righteous. You have our backs. And when we cling to You, You are able to give us exactly what we need to face today. May hurting people spend time in Your Word today. May they talk to You, the One who loves them to death. And may they allow You to bring them out of the darkness of the situation, into the light of Your Presence. Comfort them. Strengthen them. May we all look to Jesus only today.

August 5

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Jeremiah 22:24-23:8, 49:1-33; 2 Kings 24:10-17;  2 Chronicles 36:10; Obadiah 1:1-21

I’m pretty sure that when the nation of Israel was following God and were enjoying his blessings, other nations were jealous of them. I mean, who enjoys watching an enemy prosper?

The descendants of Esau were no doubt doubly jealous and resentful because after all, didn’t they have Abraham’s blood in them, too?

So when the nation of Israel was overpowered and taken captive, not only did the Edomites not lift a finger to help them, they stood by with a measure of satisfaction. They hadn’t raised a hand against God’s people themselves. But they enjoyed watching someone else do the dirty deed.

What does God say to Edom through Obadiah? 1:11 says, “On the day you stood by… you were like one of them”. As guilty as those whose hands were dirty. Obadiah goes on to say that they shouldn’t look down on their brother or rejoice when bad things happen to them.

Have you ever had a secret chuckle at the misfortune of someone who has wronged you? Be careful. God says if we do, we are as guilty as one who commits a crime.

Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies. Love them. Do good to them. If you harbor resentment and secretly hope someone gets what you think they deserve, confess that attitude as sin.

Look at verse 15. God warns us that what we do just might come around and hit us instead. What you wish on your enemy just might become your own lot in life.

Is someone treating you unfairly? Pray God blesses them. You wouldn’t mind if that came around to you, would you?