Lifetime Daily DevotionsSample

What is He saying to me?

Psalm 73:23 ?24(a)
Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel. . .. (TLB)

"Yet I am always with You;"
Do I really believe this? Do I walk in this? Am I consciously aware that everywhere I go I am in His presence--in the car on the way to town; walking the dog; sitting at my desk; at the supper table? I am always with You. If I accept this as truth, then I won't ever, ever consider Him to be not listening, not interested, somewhere far away where I have to concentrate to get in touch with Him or isolate myself to be with Him. The teaching that tells me I have to implore God to listen, to beg God to intercede, to inform Him of my problems--this pales in the light of His constant presence with me--always.

"You hold me by my right hand."
This makes it even more incredible. But how can He be holding my right hand and Bill's right hand at the same time? Or holding my hand and a missionary's hand in the deepest jungles of Africa? Mine not to reason why--mine to believe until I die. Right? So not only is He with me, but He is so involved in all that I do He is actually holding me by my right hand. Why my right hand and not my left? Most people are right-handed. That means we lead with this hand. It's our "doing" hand. It's my emphasis hand. I'd be terribly frustrated without the use of my right hand! Now, if He is holding that hand with which I do everything--be it my right or my left--then all I can do is discuss with Him my plans, and then let Him do it. I can't. I'm incapacitated!

"You guide me with Your counsel,"
This is the "discussion" that I mentioned above. Someone constantly holding my "doing" hand knows everything that I do. If I were with a peer, we would probably spend a lot of time expressing our opinions, trying to sway each other to our way of thinking, and probably arguing. But it is God: Omniscient! And He is there to counsel me. I guess you could draw the image of me dragging Him along (He's still holding my hand) on ventures of my own choosing. Complete the image, however. I'd hit the inevitable "brick wall" but He would be there to "pick up the pieces," to brush me off and tend my wounds. Maybe I would eventually learn what a mess I could make using my wisdom.

Concluding Thoughts
Oh, He is so wise! Why in the world do I insist on doing things my way when He has given me this beautiful promise? Do I really listen to what He says to me? Picture Him holding you by your chin and saying, "Look Me in the eye. I'm talking to YOU. Listen to Me. I am always with you; I am holding your right hand. I will give you My counsel." I'm sorry, Lord--I guess I just wasn't listening very well.