September 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal" (Isa. 26:4, NIV).

Devotional

There is no act of the soul more acceptable to God than faith, because there is none that brings more glory to his great name.

Wherever we trace in the Scriptures a trust in the Lord, there we find especial and remarkable deliverance. It is recorded of the children of Israel that the Lord delivered their enemies into their hand, "for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him" (1 Chron. 5:20). Again, we read of God's wondrous message sent by Jeremiah to Abed-melech, the Ethiopian, "For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD" (Jer. 39:18).

The experience, too, of God's people confirms the blessedness of trusting in the Lord. "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" (Ps. 56:4). "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man" (Ps. 118:8). "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped" (Ps. 28:7).

The promises connected with trusting in the Lord are equally rich and encouraging. "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you" (Isa. 26:3). "The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned" (Ps. 34:22). "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him" (Nah. 1:7). "Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!" (Ps. 31:19).

What a marvelous and precious cluster of encouragements from God to those who trust in the Lord with all their heart, under all circumstances, and at all times!

"Only believe" (Mark 5:36), is Jesus' word. "This is all I ask of you, the utmost thing I require at your hand. I demand no costly sacrifice. I ask no wearisome pilgrimage. I expect no personal worthiness. I look for no strength, or wisdom, or self-endeavors of your own. Only trust me. Only believe that I wait to answer prayer, that I am gracious, that I have all power at my command, that I have your interest at heart, that there is no good thing I am willing to withhold; only believe that I—and I alone—can guide your present steps, can unravel the web of your difficulties, can guide your perplexities, can extricate you from the snares that have woven their net around your feet, and can bring you through fire and through water into a wealthy place. Only trust me!"

Beloved, is this too hard? Is the request unreasonable? Is it impractical? What? Only to trust Jesus? Only to trust your needs to his ear, your burdens to his arm, your sorrows to his heart? Is this too hard? Is it beyond your power? Then tell Jesus so. Remind him of his own words, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Ask from his hands the faith to trust, the heart to trust, the courage to trust, and the power to trust all your interests, temporal and spiritual, for time and for eternity, into his hands.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise;
just to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

(Louisa M. R. Stead)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2011.