Daily Devotional for February 23, 2023

Whenever I think I have all of life under control, temptation rears its ugly head and I realize I am not as strong, disciplined, or devout as I want to be.  I am not alone.

The good news is there is an answer.  It is the One who is fully man and fully God at the same time.  He’s the only hope any of us have.

What follows is one of the Readings for Reflection from the daily devotional I use every morning.  I pray it speaks to you the way it does to me.

“Like many, Luther’s behavior did not always reflect his theology.  Still, his discovery in scripture that people by God’s grace can have a right relationship with God vastly changed his outlook on life.  Having that fundamental relationship secured, he believed that a joyful and loving life would follow.

During a period in 1527 when he suffered from dizziness and from a disease occasioned by high fever and physical weakness, Luther succumbed to a feeling of psychological abandonment.  The prayers of his wife and friends sustained him in his despair.  During this time, he composed, “A Mighty Fortress Is our God.”  A clue to his faith lay in his admission that “the prince of darkness grim” raged in his life.  Luther surmounted these personally trying times with the assurance that he need not fear the devil’s onslaughts because “one little Word shall fell him.”  That Word is Jesus Christ.  The reformer survived his rough moments by naming and clinging to Jesus Christ.”
–From Spiritual Guides for the 21^st Century by K. James Stein

There will be times in your life when you feel like you are struggling through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.  You are not alone.

Two thousand years ago, the most beautiful person looked through the future, saw your face, and said, “I will die for you.” 

Trust in the Only One who is both God and man.  Trust in the Only One who can pull you from the jaws of death.  Trust in the Only One who can reconcile you back to the Father and give you peace in the midst of the storms of life.  Call his name.

John said, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:12-14)

I pray you are in a good place, but if temptation and despair are overwhelming you, know you are not alone. The One who matters is with you.

Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, in those moments when life is heavy and hard, help me feel your peace, love, and grace.  Help me trust you.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

In the end, God wins.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins