Advent Devotion - Day 9

Join us through this special time of Advent as we dive deeper into the Word of God. Each day, we will pray and reflect on a different passage from Scripture. Daily Readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, and reflections are written by our church staff.

Dear Father in heaven, exalt yourself and your name above all things. I rededicate myself to daily praise and thanksgiving for all that you have done, all that you are doing, and all that you will do in the future. To you, the only true God, the Alpha and Omega, I offer my heartfelt praise and my songs of joy. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Thoughts and Prayers by Phil Ware

Psalm 21: 1-7

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
  How great is his joy in the victories you give!
² You have granted him his heart’s desire
  and have not withheld the request of his lips.[b]
³ You came to greet him with rich blessings
  and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
⁴ He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
  length of days, for ever and ever.
⁵ Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
  you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
⁶ Surely you have granted him unending blessings
  and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord;
  through the unfailing love of the Most High
  he will not be shaken.

I look at these verses and can’t help but be reminded of the goodness of the Lord. God has done SO MANY things for you and me that it is honestly disrespectful that we don’t stop to praise and thank him for it every day. I think about how God brought me to ministry. I was working in sports and prayed for direction in my life; three weeks later I received a call from Matthew and Randy asking me to join the church. Like, how GREAT God is! God was so faithful that he gave me the clearest sign of where he wanted me to go and that he wanted me in ministry.

Now, God may not always answer prayers or give us signs that directly, but we can see in these verses that God will be faithful to us if we remain faithful to Him. It is so important for us to ask God for the things we truly desire. He wants to rejoice with us! That answer may not always be yes, but we know that God’s plans are far greater than our own! So let us be thankful and give God praise for everything he has done for us.

Ask God how you can be more faithful this week and ask Him to show you what his desire and plan is for your life!