FBC Daily Devotional – April 26, 2021

Well, good Monday to you. How are you feeling on this fine

Monday morning the last Monday of The month of April, how are you feeling today?

How's your soul? little agitated maybe disquieted

Great deal of unrest going on in your soul these days On one level.

It's I suppose certainly understandable. I think about all that's going on in the world and you know between the

Between the pandemic and between the pandemic and politics What you know, what what what more could there be to cause a disquieted soul in these days and not only that but I think even in the realm of religion and what's going on in in terms of the attitude toward the

Christian faith and I'm assuming if you're watching this today, you've got at least some affinity

Toward toward Christianity if you're not a follower of Jesus and so it doesn't take a lot of doesn't take a lot of observation to realize that Those who are believers in Christ are facing increasing opposition.

He says that's There's a lot that's going on in our world that can leave leave your soul

Disquieted and so I've got a song for you If you're in our following our reading plan, you read today

Psalm 43 Psalm 43 is actually a companion Psalm to the 42nd

Psalm and one of the things that indicates that is the repetition of The verse that is verse 5 in Psalm 43 that asks the question

Why are you cast down on my soul? Why are you disquieted within me?

And that appears a couple times in Psalm 42 and then again in Psalm 43 but this particular

Psalm 43 points out some reason why you may Have a disquieted soul.

So the beginning of the psalm verse 1 You know calls upon the

Lord to vindicate vindicate me the psalmist says and plead my cause against an ungodly nation

My cause against an ungodly nation It's a sad thing that oh

Even a generation ago our our nation. It's never been a Christian nation per se but it has been built on Judeo -christian ethics and Judeo -christian principles and those things are

Well vastly eroding very quickly eroding and we're seeing more and more evidence of this all the time we are becoming we are an ungodly nation any nation that would justify the the murder of unborn babies by the millions in the last

You know 30 years there's just no excuse for that and it can be nothing declared nothing but an ungodly nation and then the the not only the toleration for but the promotion of all of the sexual abnormalities that are rampant and prevalent in our day these all these things and more make our nation an ungodly nation and if you're a

Christian and endeavoring and wanting to live a Christian life, then you realize just how much of a

How much opposition you're getting from your own nation didn't used to be that way

But here it is and that can lead to a disquieted soul And he goes on to say deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man

So it's one thing, you know when you feel that your whole nation the whole context in which you're living

Is essentially opposed to your worldview and to your way of life

But then when it gets personal and and you're facing that opposition on a personal level from somebody

At work or in your family even then Then that that sense of the deceitful and unjust man

Being right there and got a stranglehold on you Disquiets the soul and then have have there not been times and maybe you feel this way even today when

It's like the Lord has maybe Rejected you would you really come out and say that?

Well, the psalmist didn't have any problem with that. He said he says you are the God of my strength. Why you cast me off?

You feel like the Lord's cast you off and left you to fend for yourself in this in this world and Dealing with the enemy and the oppression of our nation alone

Well, he goes on to pray and to pray for That which will help him deal with this set of circumstances that have so disquieted his soul he prays for the

Lord to send out the light and your truth because Really? That's what will lead us.

That's what will guide you in this in this hostile environment

Ever -increasing hostile environment let those Lead you to the presence of the

Lord his truth His light as he goes on to say let them bring me to your holy hill and to your tabernacle

And then then he says I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy

This is the way you go to church, by the way Isn't it and and I and I really encourage you if you're not faithful in attending a good

Bible -believing church that preaches the word holds forth the word of truth the

Word of God as true. I Encourage you to find one and to get there if you're in the

Sterling Rock Falls area Faith Baptist is a good place for you to go because Not because we were interested in building numbers or anything like that at all

No, but but because we hold forth the truth and for the disquieted soul is so essential we need

God's truth to lead us to that holy hill and When there is a place like that when we can we can have

God's truth leading us in that way Then we can praise him.

We can go to him our exceeding joy and Praise him and worship him in spirit and in truth as he wishes to as he wants to be worshipped

So Again the psalmist ends by asking the question. Why are you cast down?

Oh my soul Why are you disquieted within me looking around me looking right in front of me?

I see plenty of reasons to Be at unrest in my soul

But then the psalmist preaches to himself and so I would encourage you

Hope in God. He says hope in God open his hope in who he is

Hoping what he is like Hoping what he's promised Hope in what is true as he has revealed it in his word.

Hope in God Then he goes on to say for I shall yet praise him He is the help of my countenance and my

God the help of my countenance when your soul is disquieted Within you you are at unrest in your soul

Shows on your countenance, doesn't it? You kind of downcast, you know sort of melancholy in your spirit and It shows on the face

Well, the Lord is the help of your countenance Let him lift you up go to him if your soul is disquieted

Look to his truth. Let his truth guide you lead you to his holy hill to God your exceeding joy

And then I trust you will find that he will be the help of your countenance hope in him

Let's pray and ask the Lord to do just that in our lives our Father and our God Surely in these days.

There's a lot to disquiet our souls There's a lot to cause us unrest in our hearts and I pray today that For each one of us who may be feeling that in our spirit today

That you would encourage us to hope in you You would lead us to your truth and that truth would lead you lead us to your holy hill

To you our exceeding joy May we find that joy in you as we hope in you

Today, we pray in Jesus name. Amen All right. Well, have a good rest of your