Devotion – Friday, 8 January 2021
Dear Readers, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watch word for today is taken from Psalm 62:6, “He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defence and my Fortress, I shall not be moved,” (Amplified Bible). This Psalm of David has been a favourite psalm of many. Martin Luther wrote the words of the hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God,” based on this psalm. The melody of this hymn stirs us to be courageous in times when our spirits are down and our strength low. In this hymn Luther states that the enemy is so powerful, that humans will never be able to outwit him or successfully battle with the evil one. But, there is one small, easily said and read word that we can take on our lips. Uttering this word, “Jesus,” causes the enemies to tremble. God has given us his Son. He has brought us in His kingdom. This Kingdom of God, the “Rock of Ages,” is our sure haven and castle of defence.
In these times of doubts and fears we are reminded that we are safe wherever we are, for we are kept in the hollow of God’s hand. Elijah was sorely distressed and called on the Lord for help and guidance. His life was in grave danger, no-one less than Queen Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, demanded his life. Elijah’s energy was depleted. He was continuously working, defending the Laws of the Lord, even with life and limb. He felt as if his life was coming to an end. God revealed himself to Elijah. God protected Elijah in the cleft of the rock and passed by in a silent breeze, after the raging thunder and earthquakes. Elijah received new strength, so much so, that he could outrun the chariot of the king, (I Kings 18:46). There is a silence after the storm. It is only then that we are able to see and hear the Lord. He was there all the time, but our attention was being taken away from focussing on the Rock, our beacon on the shore, to focussing on the waves. When we are afraid, then, like Peter, we start to look at the waves and the billows. We start to think that this surely means our demise. God understands humans, He created them. He knows what they need. He fulfils their needs, for they do not know what to ask for. He, therefore, sent the Spirit to continue to plead on the behalf of humanity. “So too, the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplications and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groaning too deep for utterance,” Romans 8: 26, (Amplified Bible).
Our application verse is taken from the letter to the Hebrews encouraging the Christians who are persecuted. This verse repeats the words of the prophet Isaiah, “So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,” Hebrews 12:12-13, (Amplified Bible). This quote is taken from Isaiah 35, where the promise is given that the wilderness shall be glad and the desert shall blossom, because the Servant of the Lord shall arrive to save the lame, the deaf and the blind! We need not be afraid, for our Lord is able to save us, as He saved those He loved through the ages. He continues to save His children and creation to the utmost. When Luther’s life was in grave danger, following the excommunication decree, God made His word very real in Luther’s life. Luther was “captured” by friends and hidden in Wartburg Castle, where he was safe. Martin Luther experienced God grace mightily. It led him to write the hymn, “A mighty fortress” that has inspired Christians to hold on in rocky times and hide in the Rock of Ages.
Father God, we come to you and thank you that it is you who strengthen our hands and knees and quieten our fears. We cannot pull ourselves up out of the miry clay, only you can. Thank you, Lord that we may call on the Name of Your Son, Jesus! Amen.
