SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 71:12-16 O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
DEVOTIONAL:
The example here is to cry out to God for help, to ask Him to help quickly, and also to praise God and hope in Him while we are waiting. This is not passive waiting. This is waiting with an expectation for God to show up, praising Him for who He is and for what He has already done. The Psalmist says he will tell of God’s righteous acts and of His deeds of salvation, and acknowledges that it will take some time because of all the Lord has done for him. He says that he will remind his accusers of God’s righteousness, which is a good battle tactic. Sometimes, we feel oppressed and burdened, and while we may not have accusers standing physically before us, satan is called the accuser of the brethren. He will come at you with all the weapons at his disposal, but his main task is to lie to you. While you are waiting for God to answer your cries for help, take action. Fasting is a spiritual act you are already taking to make room for God to work. Another thing you can do is list the ways God has come through for you before. Speak God’s goodness and righteousness out loud so you can hear yourself recounting the works of God in your life. There is something that happens in our brains when we hear ourselves speak. It spurs us to action and changes our perspective. We believe our own voice, so use the voice God gave you to speak truth instead of rehearsing the lies of the enemy as you wait for God to answer you.
PRAYER:
God, I will choose to wait for You with expectation. I will remember that You have shown up for me before and therefore, I will trust that You will show up for me now. I understand that I have a real spiritual enemy who lies to me about who I am, as well as who You are. I choose not to believe his lies, and choose instead to remind my enemy of who You are and what I know to be true about You. I will put my hope in You as I wait for You, actively believing and expecting You to show Yourself strong on my behalf.
READING PLAN:
- Galatians 1
- Galatians 2
- Galatians 3
- Galatians 4
- Galatians 5
- Galatians 6
- Ephesians 1
- Ephesians 2
- Ephesians 3
- Ephesians 4
- Ephesians 5
- Ephesians 6
- Philippians 1
