{"id":2843,"date":"2023-08-11T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2023-08-12T00:20:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T16:20:15","slug":"daily-devotion-august-11-2023-if-there-is-no-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/2023\/08\/11\/daily-devotion-august-11-2023-if-there-is-no-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Devotion (August 11, 2023): If There is No God\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.21.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 5 I cry to you, O Lord; I say, \u201cYou are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.\u201d 6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! 7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 142<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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DEVOTIONAL<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

by Jennifer A. Sun<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Our psalm today gives us a clear picture of what could have happened if there was no God. David begins the psalm by mentioning this line twice, \u201cif the Lord had not been on our side\u2026\u201d (v.1, 2). By doing this, he was calling all of Israel to acknowledge that their help came from God alone. God has been on their side\u2014He was present, and His hands were working. It was not enough for some of the people to acknowledge this truth; he urged the whole nation to recognize, acknowledge, and declare that God is their only help. Many times in David\u2019s reign, he experienced opposition and oppression, but God has always been His Help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the dangers mentioned in the psalm, we see that troubles can swallow us alive, overwhelm us little by little, sweep us away in one go, grind and press us hard from all sides, or be a trap or temptation to sin. The challenges we face in life are similar in nature, they can rob us of our peace and joy, and they can pose a serious threat to our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Opposition and oppression can leave us helpless and hopeless, but God is our only Deliverer. Only God can set us free from all these.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The psalm closes with sure confidence in God. Others may turn elsewhere for help, but for Israel, and hopefully, for us who are in Him, we turn to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

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PRAYER<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Heavenly Father, we recognize and declare that our help comes from You alone. In the face of opposition, oppression, and the challenges of life, we trust in Your presence and Your mighty hand working on our behalf. You are our Deliverer, capable of setting us free from all that seeks to overwhelm us. Help us to turn to You with sure confidence, knowing that in You, we find true help and hope. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.<\/span><\/p>\n

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TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE 1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotionals","category-text-devo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2843"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2846,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2843\/revisions\/2846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jec.com.ph\/jub\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}