Closer Day 3 | Psalm 33:10-22
Read: Psalm 33:10-22
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Reflect:
Our whole life, we are taught to earn what we get. We have to work and lean on our understanding and skill to make the grade or get the job done. When life gets hard, we have to push harder to make it through. There is certainly a need for hard work and growth in our knowledge. The only problem is that the focus tends to be on us. We are the solution to the problem. We are the ones who need to do better. That takes a lot of willpower and strength to pull off. If that’s the case, where do you find your strength to go through life? Or another way to say it is where does your hope come from? What do you do when you inevitably fail?
The second half of Psalm 33 is a great reminder of where true strength is found and who our hope should be in. It isn’t kings, armies, warriors, or war horses who possess the power to ensure victory in life. It also isn’t in ourselves, as evidenced by our many failures. Even though we are weak, real power is shown in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). There is only one real source of strength and one who is never defeated, no matter the adversary. In the Lord, we find everything we need to not just get through life but to live lives full of hope. We actually see the most powerful act in all of human history shown through the weakness of death. Jesus gave up His life and died to save each of us. Through that sacrifice, He covered every one of our collective sins. Then, three days later, perfects that power by conquering death through His resurrection and making a way for us to be restored to our heavenly Father. It was all done through the power of God’s love. What Jesus accomplished on the cross and through the resurrection fuels our hope and leads us to trust in Him above all.
Prayer:
God, help guard me from putting my hope in my abilities or strengths and allow my weaknesses to serve as reminders of Your power. Help me to focus on Your never-ending love and that the truth of the gospel would be my hope. Thank you for saving me so that I can rest in Your victory!
This devotional is part of our Closer: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Our hope is that this will assist you in focusing your heart each day. To learn more or to get caught up, click here.