Daily Devotional for Thursday, February 1

God’s Proven Dependability

“For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our God,” 2 Samuel 22:32.

“Like a rock.” “You’re in good hands.” “It keeps going and going and going.” You probably recognize all these advertising slogans (depending on your age). Each one speaks of qualities of durability and reliability. We want that from our vehicles and our batteries, even if the truck may break down or the battery runs out of power.

When we consider the dependability of God, however, we must ask questions like David did. Who is God, except for the Lord alone? Who is our one sure foundation, our only hope and rock, except our God? There are many things in life that can temporarily bring satisfaction, hope and security. People have found replacements for God in a variety of things like drugs, a career, love or even a political party. Those things may temporarily bring what someone is looking for, but only briefly and incompletely. There is no God but the Lord. There is no rock but Jesus.

These questions are asked and answered through a lifetime of following the one, true God. Most believers have felt a temporary confusion with God. Maybe you have, too. Something did not go as you had planned or expected. Life did not produce what you thought it should produce. So you wondered what God was doing and what He meant by all you had experienced. You know that there is no other God, and you know that any substitution will only leave you dissatisfied in the end, but you still feel uneasy about what God is doing in your circumstance. When you experience those moments, go back to what you know: Jesus is Lord; Jesus is my Rock. With that knowledge you can endure until you feel right again.

REFLECTION: Waiting on the Lord is done in faith. We know He is good, and we know He is working, so we faithfully persist in following Him, even when we do not understand.

Jason Rutherford