DAY
28
IT’S NOT UP TO YOU
WE OFTEN LOOK to those who are strong, wise, and influential to solve the world’s problems, but God repeatedly reminds his people that he is their strength and that he will accomplish his purposes. Embracing this truth empowers us to persevere in hope, even as we address widespread injustice and sin. Living faithfully in a godless culture requires trusting in a sovereign and gracious God.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
ISAIAH 26:3
Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
ISAIAH 66:1-2
The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
PSALM 33:13-22
Responding in Prayer
- Confess your anxieties to God, and ask him to forgive you for the times you haven’t trusted him. Pray that he would strengthen your faith.
- Praise God for his sovereignty, wisdom, and power. Express your trust in him, and confess that you are not strong enough to overcome evil on your own.
- Ask God to use your efforts and abilities for his glory.