Day 34: Life's Victories

Reading: Psalm 18:16-24

God is our ultimate rescuer and causes great victories in our lives. David faces so many challenges, and has many enemies pursuing him. Can you imagine the relief he finally gets to feel after God rescues him from those enemies? We all have someone or something that irks us. Maybe people nag at you, or you have a job where all you hear is complaints all day long. Maybe you have a family member or coworker always on your case for no reason. Whatever your "enemy" may seem to be, cry out to God. If He can resume David from thousands of pursues out to kill him, you better believe that He can rescue you from your tormentors too. If you are currently in a peaceful place of life, thank Him for that peace!


Reading: Matthew 22:15-46

In this reading, we see how impressive Jesus is with dealing with the tricks and traps of the religious leaders. His wisdom comes into play here as He continually shuts down the traps set up for Him. As Christians, we can face some daunting questions from the critics and curious alike. Our best ammunition for these times is God's Word. Knowing scripture, and having it embedded into our lives won't guarantee we'll know all the answers every time (only God knows all), but it will be a good basis of understanding when we are put in a position to give a good, Biblical answer. Remember that it is ok the say that you don't know, but you'll look into it. It's not wrong to talk to a Pastor or a trustworthy fellow Christian about a question that arises. As a camp counselor, I faced all sorts of questions from kids from 5-18. Some were pretty deep, especially the ones from the Sr. High kids. But a blessing of working at a Bible camp was that I was surrounded by plenty of fellow staff members from all walks of faith who I could bounce questions off of and get good advice at handling questions and situations that arose. It's ok to not know all the time, but be sure to keep in the Word for reference. It's your best one to find victory in the traps and tricks.


Reading: Job 30:1-32:22

Job is very confident that he'll be found blameless before God. He knows the power of God, and refuses to have His wrath put upon him. Job lists off the things he has done right in, and we can sure take an example from Job in these matters:

- Stay Pure: In a world like ours, purity is not valued much anymore. In God's eyes, it is of greatest value. Don't copy what the culture says is ok, or what is happening on media. Copy what God says in this area.

- Dodge Materialism: This is yet anger big issue in our culture. Keeping up with the latest and greatest is a way of life in our country. But God says that it is all absolutely meaningless. Don't waste your time, energy and resources getting the newest gadgets and toys. Put it into something with eternal value.

- Love Enemies: This can be tough, especially after reading the Psalms passage we read today. The greatest revenge you can have on an enemy though is loving and being kind to them. Seems pretty backwards, but it will drive them crazy. God calls us to love our neighbors, and yep, our enemies are also our neighbors.
- Be Generous: One of the things God cares about most is giving to the poor and being generous to those in need. Don't hoard your resources, but take what you need and pass it along to someone else in need.

Following these few ideas will help you find victory in being a confident, blameless person.


Allow God to give you a victory.