Daily Devotions with Greg Laurie – Thursday,
9 January 2014 – “Dealing with Discouragement”
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why
are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help
of my countenance and my God. (Psalm 42:11)
It's not unusual for even the most
spiritual people to have their days of doubt. Moses, on one occasion at least,
was overwhelmed by his circumstances. After he had listened to the constant
complaining of the children of Israel, he basically told the Lord, "I'm
fed up. Just kill me. I don't want to deal with this, another day."
Elijah, after his contest with the
prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, heard that Jezebel had put a contract out on
his life. He was so overwhelmed by his circumstances, so discouraged, so
uncertain, and so filled with doubt that he said to God, "Take my
life."
Even the great apostle Paul had moments
when he was discouraged. He wrote to the church at Corinth, "We were
burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of
life" (2 Corinthians 1:8).
Jeremiah, the great prophet, faced it as
well. He was ridiculed and harassed for giving out the Word of God. Because he
was tired of the pressure he was facing, it made him want to stop giving out
God's Word altogether. He said, "The word of the Lord was made to me a
reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him,
nor speak anymore in His name'" (Jeremiah 20:8-9).
You aren't the only one who has ever
faced doubt or uncertainty or has been perplexed as to why God did not work in
a certain way. We may be in the midst of God's working and can't see the big
picture as He can.
We can trust His heart, even when we
can't trace His path.
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Today's Bible Reading:
Genesis Sarah’s Death and Burial
23: Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven
years; this was the length of Sarah’s life. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba
(that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah
and to weep for her. 3 Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the
Hittites, 4 “I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property
among you for a burying place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5
The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince
among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will
withhold from you any burial ground for burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and
bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 He said to them, “If you are
willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me
Ephron son of Zohar, 9 so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he
owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me
in your presence as a possession for a burying place.” 10 Now Ephron was
sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the
hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my
lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in
the presence of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham
bowed down before the people of the land. 13 He said to Ephron in the hearing
of the people of the land, “If you only will listen to me! I will give the
price of the field; accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.” 14
Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four
hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16
Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that
he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver,
according to the weights current among the merchants.
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah,
which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all
the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed 18 to
Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all
who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife
in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the
land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it passed from the
Hittites into Abraham’s possession as a burying place.
The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah
24: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in
years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his
servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your
hand under my thigh 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven
and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred
and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman
may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to
the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do
not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my
father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to
me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before
you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not
willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you
must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh
of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his
master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master;
and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the
camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening,
the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my
master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my
master Abraham. 13 I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters
of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the girl to whom I
shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink,
and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for
your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to
my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, there
was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl
was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to
the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her
and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18 “Drink, my
lord,” she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a
drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for
your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied
her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all
his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord
had made his journey successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking,
the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her
arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are.
Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to
him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25
She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.”
26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the
Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and
his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to
the house of my master’s kin.”
28 Then the girl ran and told her
mother’s household about these things. 29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was
Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen
the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard the
words of his sister Rebekah, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man;
and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, O
blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house
and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man came into the house; and Laban
unloaded the camels, and gave him straw and fodder for the camels, and water to
wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set
before him to eat; but he said, “I will not eat until I have told my errand.”
He said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has
given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and
donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was
old; and he has given him all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying,
‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in
whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and
get a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not
follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his
angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son
from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath,
when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be
free from my oath.’
42 “I came today to the spring, and said,
‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the
way I am going! 43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young
woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little
water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will
draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for
my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished speaking in my
heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she
went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She
quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also
water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I
asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel,
Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the
bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and
blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way
to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you
will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so
that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The
thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. 51
Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your
master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their
words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. 53 And the servant
brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to
Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54
Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night
there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.” 55
Her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl remain with us a while, at least
ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me,
since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my
master.” 57 They said, “We will call the girl, and ask her.” 58 And they called
Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59
So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s
servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up,
mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and
went his way.
62 Now Isaac had come from[a]
Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out in the evening
to walk[b] in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. 64 And Rebekah
looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, 65 and
said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet
us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered
herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then
Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became
his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 24:62 Syr Tg: Heb from coming
to
b. Genesis 24:63 Meaning of Heb word is
uncertain
Luke The Mission of
the Twelve
9: Then Jesus[a] called the twelve together and
gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,2 and he sent them out to proclaim the
kingdom of God and to heal. 3 He
said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor
money—not even an extra tunic.4 Whatever
house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.5 Wherever they do not welcome you, as you
are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against
them.” 6 They
departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing
diseases everywhere.
Herod’s
Perplexity
7 Now
Herod the ruler[b] heard about all that had taken
place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been
raised from the dead, 8 by
some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets
had arisen. 9 Herod
said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he
tried to see him.
Feeding the
Five Thousand
10 On
their return the apostles told Jesus[c] all they had done. He took them
with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11 When
the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and
spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
12 The day was
drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away,
so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and
get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” 13 But he said to
them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five
loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were
about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in
groups of about fifty each.” 15 They
did so and made them all sit down. 16 And taking the
five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke
them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate
and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken
pieces.
Peter’s
Declaration about Jesus
18 Once
when Jesus[d] was praying alone, with only
the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They
answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of
the ancient prophets has arisen.” 20 He said to
them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah[e] of God.”
Jesus
Foretells His Death and Resurrection
21 He
sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone,22 saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great
suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised.”
23 Then he said
to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For those who
want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake
will save it. 25 What
does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit
themselves? 26 Those
who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed
when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But truly I
tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see
the kingdom of God.”
The
Transfiguration
28 Now
about eight days after these sayings Jesus[f] took with him Peter and John
and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And
while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes
became dazzling white.30 Suddenly
they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared
in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish
at Jerusalem.32 Now
Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had
stayed awake,[g] they saw his glory and the two
men who stood with him. 33 Just
as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be
here; let us make three dwellings,[h] one for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was
saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as
they entered the cloud. 35 Then
from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen;[i]listen
to him!” 36 When
the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those
days told no one any of the things they had seen.
Jesus Heals a
Boy with a Demon
37 On
the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just
then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is
my only child. 39 Suddenly
a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[j]shrieks.
It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely
leave him. 40 I
begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus
answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be
with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was
coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked
the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were
astounded at the greatness of God.
Jesus Again Foretells His Death
While everyone
was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Let
these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into
human hands.” 45 But
they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so
that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this
saying.
True Greatness
46 An
argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 But
Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his
side, 48 and
said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the
greatest.”
Another
Exorcist
49 John
answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried
to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But
Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan
Village Refuses to Receive Jesus
51 When
the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And
he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the
Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did
not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his
disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”[k] 55 But he turned
and rebuked them. 56 Then[l] they went on to another village.
Would-Be
Followers of Jesus
57 As
they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you
wherever you go.” 58 And
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he
said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus[m] said to him, “Let the dead bury
their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said,
“I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to
him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom
of God.”
Footnotes:
a. Luke 9:1 Gk he
b. Luke 9:7 Gk tetrarch
c. Luke 9:10 Gk him
d. Luke 9:18 Gk he
e. Luke 9:20 Or The
Christ
f. Luke 9:28 Gk he
g. Luke 9:32 Or but
when they were fully awake
h. Luke 9:33 Or tents
i. Luke 9:35 Other ancient authorities read my Beloved
j. Luke 9:39 Or it
k. Luke 9:54 Other ancient authorities add as Elijah did
l. Luke 9:56 Other ancient authorities read rebuked them, and said, “You do not
know what spirit you are of, 56 for
the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings but to save
them.” Then
m. Luke 9:60 Gk he
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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