April 22 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

"For God alone my soul waits in silence," says another translation of verse 1. David's soul is still and waits for God alone. By saying that, David gives us an inkling of a struggle that has taken place. But now he has turned to God. He has received inner strength. Now he wants all of us to become quiet with God.

That's why he says, "Pour out your hearts to him" (v. 8). He wants all of us to pray. Not simply: "Let's say grace and get on with the business." No, he says: "Pour out your hearts" and find silence with God.

This is not just a psychological truth to the effect that we must "unload" and "find release" for pent-up emotions. It is a religious truth. A burdened heart must be emptied before God before it can experience quiet.

We find silence and relief with God, says David, because from God comes our salvation; our hope comes from him. Now that we have unburdened, God will take care of us. Trust in the Lord. Do not expect it from people, because "the lowborn" and "the highborn" are together "only a breath" (v. 9), a puff of air. We must expect all good from God alone.

Theoretically we agree. God must do it. All our solutions come from him. Yet our schedules don't allow much time for prayer. We run and race and talk endlessly with people of high status and people of low status. Even in our work for the church and the kingdom we resemble the always-busy Martha more than Mary, who sat quietly at the feet of Jesus.

We must give a practical demonstration that we know the true value of people, the true value of prayer, and the reality of the peace God gives. That peace does not forbid us to work hard, but it shows up in the way we live and work.

From where does our help come? We must not answer that question by reciting a memory verse. We must answer it through our conduct.

REFLECTIONS

Are you experiencing the peace that comes from "pouring your heart out to God"? Does your busy schedule give you enough "quiet time" with God?

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.