O LORD, You preserve both man and beast. How priceless is Your unfailing love! Psalm 36:6-7
If God withdrew from the universe, all life would come to an end, and nothing would be able to function. The world could not exist.
God's power governs, directs, and sustains all He has made. All created things function according to the powers and properties that He has implanted in them. God is actively preserving everything that exists.
Our next heartbeat depends on God. The smallest seed sprouts and grows because of His power. The sun rises and sets according to His ordinance. Much of what God does He does through His creation.
We are dependent on God for everything, especially for our salvation, for by His grace He made us spiritually alive in Christ through our Baptism and forgave us all our sins.
As we recognize that all our help comes from the Lord, we thank and praise Him as the source of all good. We also remember Moses' caution that if the children of Israel enjoyed many good things and flourished, they should not claim the credit. Rather, they should acknowledge that everything comes from the hand of the Lord. We too acknowledge: "O LORD, You preserve both man and beast."
PRAYER: Gracious Lord, when we want to boast of what we can do, remind us that we are totally dependent on You; in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 7-9 1 Corinthians 7:20-40
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