When you find yourself in distress, who do you call on first? I know ‘God’ is the ideal answer but, in most cases, I call on a friend or loved one. I will admit, though, that even the most reliable people are not always reliable. My friends and loved ones can only carry the weight of my expectations for so long before they do what humans do: fail.

God cannot fail. But, if we’re honest, there are moments in our lives when it feels like he has. Moments when he didn’t meet our expectations, when he didn’t show up the way we asked him to. We’ve been waiting for a ‘sign’, asking for a miracle, and it feels like it’ll never come.

Remember: truth trumps feelings. So even though you may not feel like God is who he says he is, nothing about his character has changed.

God is with you in your frustrations and pain as much as he is with you in your happiness and laughter. And he is the same God who loved you enough to come down from his throne and give you victory over death. He is a God who has answered and set you free from bondage to sin (v5). Because of Jesus, God is on your side, his Holy Spirit dwells within you, and you need not fear. He has overcome the world (John 16:33). If all that is true, whatever man can do to you is “less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us” (Romans 8:18 TPT).

Feel your feelings, but grasp truth tightly. Allow emotions to reveal your inner thoughts and weaknesses without dictating your life. It is better to take refuge in the Lord, the good King, than to trust in man — that includes government, loved ones, and even yourself (v8-9).

God, in my struggles, will you show up? Help me to see my circumstances through the lens of the cross so I see your faithfulness, even in my pain, and experience the comfort of your presence. Strengthen my faith in you and help me to be guided by your truth, not my feelings.

Throughout This Day: Whenever your emotions begin to affect you negatively, ask God to reveal to you the aspects of his character that you might be forgetting or doubting.



Tags: Daily Devotional Psalm 118
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