January 10 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Isaiah 46:

¹Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
²They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
³Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
⁴And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
⁵To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
⁶They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
⁷They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
⁸Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
⁹Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
¹¹Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
¹²Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
¹³I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Devotional

Are we troubled today by uncertainty as to what the future will bring to us? Is there anxiety, for example, about the international situation? Is there concern as to whether we or our loved ones may be called into military service? Is there insecurity in our employment? Is there worry about our health? Do these or other concerns distress and unsettle us?

We, of course, do not know just what a new day or a new week will bring. God has not chosen to disclose to us precisely what has been planned. There will be some uncertainty. There will be questions that we will not be able to answer. But there is no uncertainty for God; there are no questions that He cannot answer. There is indeed none like God, who can declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done. There is none else whose counsel shall stand and who will perform all His pleasure. And He is our God- our own God-our own loving, covenant God! It is our God who works all things after the counsel of His will and who causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. We will not, then, let our uncertainties and problems overwhelm us; we will commit them to our great God and rest in His sovereign care.

Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)