Daily Devotion

Voice: Mylene

Today is Friday, the 13th of March.

The Opening Sentence:

Turn your face from my sins, and blot out all my misdeeds.
PSALM 51:9

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The appointed psalm for today is Psalm 22. We read verses 1 to 8.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Exodus 1:8-14

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. ¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

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In Good Times and Bad

We have been following the story of Joseph in the Old Testament readings over the past weeks. It is a wonderful story of God’s favour upon Joseph, Jacob, and their people.

However, the book of Book of Exodus opens on an ominous note: “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.”

The favourable circumstances and connections suddenly came to a halt. Then the situation began to reverse. The new king felt threatened by the Jewish foreigners and began to oppress and enslave them.

So we say, “God is good, all the time… all the time, God is good.”

It is easier to proclaim this when times are good—when it seems that everything we touch turns to gold. Our country’s economy is humming along and we have no financial worries. We have bosses and colleagues who treat us favourably. Our church is growing and energetic.

Life is simply happening.

But what if life takes a different turn? And it often does.

It may be an illness.
You have a change of boss.
A relationship does not work out.
You do not get the grades you hoped for.
Your investments plunge, scattering all your financial plans.

How should we respond as followers of Christ when we enter a season in life where the favours seem to have vanished?

St Paul says in Epistle to the Philippians 4:12:

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

What was Paul’s secret?

He did not depend on circumstances but on Christ who strengthens him. This leads directly to the famous next verse:

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Just as the Israelites needed to trust in Yahweh and not the Egyptian kings, we need a steadiness of faith, where we look to Christ and not to our circumstances. In good times and in bad, our confidence rests not in changing fortunes, but in the unchanging faithfulness of God.

🌿 Thought for Lent

This is a difficult season with the on-going crises in the Middle-east. Take a moment to pray for peace and our brothers and sisters who are affected directly by these conflicts.

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We pray the Prayer of Clement of Rome, 1st Century

We beseech you, Master, to be our helper and protector.
Save the afflicted among us;
have mercy on the lowly;
raise up the fallen;
appear to the needy;
heal the ungodly;
restore the wanderers of thy people;
feed the hungry;
ransom our prisoners;
raise up the sick;
comfort the faint-hearted. Amen.

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We end with this hymn by Sarah Groves, He’s Always been Faithful:

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Morning by morning, I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season, I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me

I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me

Song Credit and copyright – Sara Groves
Written by: Sara Groves
Great Is Thy Faithfulness written by Thomas Chisholm & William Runyan

Link to full Morning Office