April 18 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

In order to live the life of faith, a person must engage in self-exhortation from time to time. You and I must say to ourselves, "Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God."

Some people assume that you have a mental problem if they hear you talking to yourself. They may be correct—if you are the only one you can talk to.

It's not strange at all to talk to your own soul. There are always two in every human breast. One says, "I want," and the other says, "I cannot." One hopes and the other despairs. Even the most mature and integrated Christian adult has to argue with a pagan voice in the depth of his or her being.

Christians must exhort their own souls to live by faith. Before we can speak the Word to others, we should ask for God's strength to keep our own lives under control and set our own spirits at peace. We cannot condemn the disobedience to God in the world around us if we have not learned to condemn the unbelief and rebellion in our own hearts.

A good deal of Christian living must be spent in calling our very selves, our souls, to an awareness of the spiritual realities to which we are naturally blind.

Christians must exhort their own souls to live by faith. It's ridiculous how we can slide into a rut of lackluster living—we who have been chosen by God to share all the riches of his Son! "Why are you sinking, my soul? Take hold of your God!"

We have been assured that God values us more than a flock of birds. Yet not one bird dies without God's permission. How, then, can we sit and worry until we are sick and useless?

Speak to your soul.

Hope in God! For life and death, for bread and butter, for forgiveness and salvation, hope in God!

REFLECTIONS

What do you need to say to your soul today?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.