Daily Devotional

As I have been reading through the life of David there have been so many times that "David inquired of the Lord" or that David acknowledged that it was the Lord that helped him. I wonder what David's upbringing was like? When you look at how his brothers acted when he reacted to Goliath's mocking of God you wonder how he had such a strength of faith that seemed to be different from theirs.

It reminds me how each of us are uniquely individual. Siblings can be brought up by the same parents but see our upbringing with a totally different view. And when it comes to our faith in God, our decision to follow Him has to be our own. John 1:12-14 makes that clear…"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It is not because we have parents who believe in Him, or we go to church or have friends who encourage us or even because we are good people. We have to be born of God. It has to be our own decision and based on our belief in Him alone.

From my perspective as a parent that can be so hard. You try your very best to instill your faith in the Lord into your children. Teaching His words diligently," talking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Encouraging them to memorize scripture and make it their own at an early age so that when they are old they won't depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). But the time comes when you take the back seat and wait to see who they choose to be their driver. Sometimes that wait is short and some are still praying and waiting.

I'm thankful that the Word of God is full of stories of individuals that had journeys of growth and then there's some like Paul who was confronted in a huge burst of God's presence. Those stories give me hope and faith that God will always be ready and willing to transform lives. So I continue to wait and pray as I learn and grow in the Lord myself.

In His Presence | Dick Tunney, Melodie Tunney

Verse 1
In the quiet of this hour
As I kneel before You now
I believe Your promise to be faithful
I don't always understand
What Your perfect will demands
But I've learned to trust You more
In Your presence Lord

Chorus 1
In Your presence there is comfort
In Your presence there is peace
When we seek to know Your heart
We will find such blessed assurance
In Your holy presence Lord

Verse 2
There can be such sweet reward
When we wait upon the Lord
As we take the time
He gives His perfect wisdom
To be found in Him alone
All our deepest secrets known
We're surrounded by His grace
When we seek His face

© 1988 Dick And Mel Music; Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing; Pamela Kay Music | For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use.  All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI Song #18589 CCLI License #144020

New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.