Christ Church Daily Devotion May 28 2024

In the Daily Devotion for May 28, 2024, Solomon stands before the altar and praises God for keeping his promises. He acknowledges that God doesn't need a physical dwelling place, but the temple and the people need his presence. We are reminded that we need God every day to direct and guide us, especially during trials and tribulations. By seeking the Lord and being faithful, we can overcome the challenges and experience God's constant love. The devotion encourages us to seek God's hand in everything we do. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for May 28, 2024. Today we will be reading from 1 Kings 8, verses 22-27. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, and then said, Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven, above, or on earth below. You who keep your covenant of love with your servants, who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father. With your mouth you have promised, and with your hand you have fulfilled it, as it is today. Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done. And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple have I built. King Solomon had no illusions that he was providing God Almighty a place to live on planet earth. He clearly understood and made it clear to the rest of Israel that the temple was not God's home, because God does not need a home. But the temple and the people of Israel who would come there to seek God did need his presence. It is important that we meet this fact head on. God does not need us, but we need him every day. If we will seek him, he will direct our lives. We need God to direct us and carry us along because ordeals and tragedies try and send us the opposite way of his will. We see an illustration of this in the icebergs that dot the frigid waters around Greenland. Smaller icebergs are moved whichever way the surface winds are gusting, but the gigantic icebergs are moved steadily along by the deeper ocean currents. When we face trials and tribulations, we need to remember that these two forces are attempting to direct our lives. When our faith is small, the surface winds, which are changeable, unpredictable, and distressing, drive our lives. But when our faith is increased by seeking the Lord daily and being washed in his word, then the far more powerful current of God overcomes the gusts and the gales. When we are yielded to him, his certain hand will direct our lives in the deep flow of his constant love. Your personal worship option today? Lord, we have looked for your hand in every place we go today.