Read: Psalm 34:11–18

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 32–34; Mark 15:26–47

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.—Psalm 34:18

The morning after our son, Allen, was born, the doctor sat down in a chair near the foot of my bed and said, “Something’s wrong.” Our son, so perfect on the outside, had a life-threatening birth defect and needed to be flown to a hospital 700 miles away for immediate surgery.

When the doctor tells you something is wrong with your child, your life changes. Fear of what lies ahead can crush your spirit and you stumble along, desperate for a God who will strengthen you so you can support your child.

Would a loving God allow this? you wonder. Does He care about my child? Is He there? These and other thoughts shook my faith that morning.

Then my husband, Hiram, arrived and heard the news. After the doctor left, Hiram said, “Jolene, let’s pray.” I nodded and he took my hand. “Thank You, Father, for giving Allen to us. He’s Yours, God, not ours. You loved him before we knew him, and he belongs to You. Be with him when we can’t. Amen.”

Hiram has always been a man of few words. He struggles to speak his thoughts and often doesn’t try, knowing that I have enough words to fill any silence. But on a day when my heart was broken, my spirit crushed, and my faith gone, God gave Hiram strength to speak the words I couldn’t say. And clinging to my husband’s hand, in deep silence and through many tears, I sensed that God was very near. —Jolene Philo

The best kind of friend is a praying friend.

INSIGHT: First Samuel 21:10-15 records the story of David pretending madness to the Philistines in order to escape the pursuit of King Saul, and it was this event to which David addressed Psalm 34. His joyful gratefulness for divine protection can be seen in verses 4-6, and he recommends that the reader also “taste and see that the Lord is good” (v. 8). A wonderful verse of ongoing thanksgiving and worship is verse 5: “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” The Wycliffe Bible Commentary tells us that this psalm is not only for ourselves but for the next generation: “Those addressed as children are again the humble and teachable disciples of any age (vv. 11-22).” God works in our lives at the most difficult times and His gracious lessons are worth passing on to others. Dennis Fisher

http://www.odb.org

Read: Genesis 13:1–18

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 30–31; Mark 15:1–25

Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.—Genesis 13:9

In some cultures a younger person is expected to permit his elder to enter a room first. In others, the most important or highest ranking individual enters first. No matter what our traditions, there are times when we find it difficult to allow someone to choose first on important matters, especially when that privilege rightfully belongs to us.

Abram (later called Abraham) and his nephew Lot had so many flocks, herds, and tents that the land could not support both of them as they traveled together. To avoid conflict, Abram suggested they part company and generously gave Lot first choice of the land. His nephew took the fertile Jordan Valley, leaving Abram with the less desirable land.

Abram did not insist on his rights as the elder in this situation but trusted his future to God. “So Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me . . . . Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left’ ” (Gen. 13:8-9). Lot’s choice eventually led to dire consequences for his entire family (see Gen. 19).

Today, as we face choices of many kinds, we can trust our Father to guide us in His way. He has promised to care for us. He will always give us what we need. —David McCasland

Father, Your unfailing love and faithfulness guide us in every choice we make. May our lives speak well of You and honor You today.

God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.  Jim Elliot

http://www.odb.org

Read: Isaiah 40:9–17

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 28–29; Mark 14:54–72

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand . . . ?—Isaiah 40:12

After I clumsily knocked over my glass on the restaurant counter, the spilled beverage began to cascade over the edge and onto the floor. Out of sheer embarrassment, I tried to catch the waterfall with cupped hands. My efforts were largely unsuccessful; most of my beverage rushed through my fingers. In the end, my upturned palms held little more than a meager tablespoon each, while my feet stood in puddles.

My life feels similar on many days. I find myself scrambling to solve problems, oversee details, and control circumstances. No matter how hard I try, my feeble hands are incapable of managing all the pieces and parts. Something invariably slips through my fingers and pools on the floor at my feet, leaving me feeling overwhelmed. No amount of contorting my hands or squeezing my fingers more tightly together makes me able to handle it all.

Yet God can. Isaiah tells us that God can measure the globe’s waters—all the oceans and rivers and rain—in the hollow of His hands (40:12). Only His hands are large enough to hold them all. We needn’t try to hold more than the tablespoon He’s designed our hands to carry. When we feel overwhelmed, we can entrust our cares and concerns into His capable hands. —Kirsten Holmberg

Help me, Lord, to stop trying to hold everything in my hands, but instead to trust my needs and concerns into Your perfect care.

We can trust God to handle the things that overwhelm us.

INSIGHT: The truth of God’s intimate care for us is grounded in God’s self-revelation, the Bible. In the Discovery Series booklet How Can I Know God through His Book? David Egner writes, “Although the Bible was written by men like Moses and Luke and Paul, it is the self-revelation of God. He is the Author behind the authors. And what He says reflects who He is. To know God we have to read His book; . . . to see Him on every page, above every event, in every place and circumstance, and overseeing the choice of every person who makes his way into the sacred pages of biblical history.”

http://www.odb.org