Day 168
Psalm 138:8
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Sometimes it is so easy for us to run our own lives, instead of allowing God to be in control. After all, we manage most of it okay. Without God, of course we would be a successful mess. He causes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust, and were it not for His mercy and loving kindness, all saints and sinners alike would be in a horrible condition. However, because we cannot see Him, we forget that He is responsible for every good and perfect gift in our lives. It may never be revealed in this lifetime how many times he was involved in our accomplishments in inconspicuous ways.
When we understand better how much we need the Lord, we will say what the psalmist David, said in Psalm 138:8. God’s faithfulness to work in our lives is a confession of faith. It is a wonderful reminder to us of how much more progress we can make if we acknowledge Him more. When the full burden for success is on our shoulders, it slows us down and makes us less productive. If, however, we would confess what the psalmist said when it seems we are making no progress, we would see more of the power of God at work in our lives. This applies to changing habits and improving attitudes and character, as well as accomplishing goals.
Let us make David’s confession our daily confession, and see how much easier life can be when God is given more control. If we look back and think about some serious improvements that have been made in our lives, we would probably have to say God had obviously helped us. This help could have come through His Word, a chose vessel, the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit or by some other means.
The Lord is perfecting everything that concerns me. I will remind myself of who is in charge of my life by regularly confessing that the Lord is perfecting whatever concerns me.