Week 49 Day 5

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A Vessel of the Almighty

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. . . . They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.

Psalm 92:12, 14

Lord, one thing we want,

More holiness grant;

For more of thy mind and thy image we pant:

While onward we move

To Canaan above,

Come, fill us with holiness, fill us with love.

Abraham Lincoln considered himself a vessel of God to be used to further the cause of freedom, liberty, and justice. In a letter to the Reverend Byron Sunderland, who called upon the president toward the end of 1862, he wrote, “I hold myself in my present position and with the authority vested in me, as an instrument of Providence. I am conscious every moment that all I am and all I have is subject to the control of a Higher Power and that Power can use me or not use me in any manner and at any time in his wisdom and might as may be pleasing to him.” Lincoln was encouraged to know that he was used by God for his purposes. Otherwise, the stress and pressure that came with being president and commander in chief may have been too overwhelming. When one has faith that he or she is being used by God, nothing is too overwhelming.