April 20 devotion

You can watch today's devotion here.

Overlooked blessings…home

Psalm 5:11

4/20/20

Pastor John C. Berg

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you be glad.
Let them sing for joy forever.
You cover them with protection,
    so those who love your name rejoice in you.

This is your daily devotion for April 20^th. The typical route that I walk with my dog is a blacktopped path that winds through my neighborhood.  A couple weeks ago all sorts of chalk art appeared on it.  Most of it is inspirational and comforting sayings.  One I’ve seen a couple other places and maybe you have too:  “You don’t have to stay at home.  You get to stay at home.”  We may have different opinions about how long shelter-in-place orders should last but this is a powerful reminder of a blessing, isn’t it?

I hope you enjoyed our walk through 1 Corinthians 15 last week.  Today we begin a new series I’m calling “Overlooked Blessings.”  Every day we’ll talk about a blessing that is easy for us to take for granted, but is powerful evidence of God’s love.  You get to stay at home.  In other words, you have a home in which to shelter. 

We spend more time in our houses or apartments than anywhere else.  Your home is your safe place.  It’s where you are in charge.  You decide what’s in it and what’s not.  You control the thermostat and the TV.  It’s where you family is and where you can be yourself.  And yet, don’t we often take it for granted?  Here’s what I mean.  Think of how excited you were when the offer you made on your house was accepted or when you signed the lease on your apartment.  And now I can go many days without even thinking of what a blessing my house is.

How can we better appreciate our homes?  By being reminded why we have them.  Yes, we work hard to pay the rent.  We spend a lot of time and money maintaining the house.  But it’s all from God.  He provides us shelter.  Psalm 5:11 is a great example of how the Bible usually talks about this:   ¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you be glad. Let them sing for joy forever. You cover them with protection, so those who love your name rejoice in you.

Since it’s God who provides it all HE really is the shelter, the refuge, the protection.  That’s why you need not fear if you lose your house or if you can no longer afford your apartment.  Be thankful that God will always protect you.

We pray:  God Almighty, you always keep your promises and so we are thankful now and forever that you provide us with homes.  Use us to be part of the process of doing so for others.  Amen.

Your moment of joy is this:  look away from your screen and see the home God has given you!