New Hope Diamond Head Staff Daily Devotions & Journal Blog: HELPING A BRUTE BEAST. By Pastor Fernando

Doing Devotions Together

We want you to take a look at what God is speaking to our church staff! This blog will help you to be encouraged by what others journal about. Also, it will assist you as you improve the way you journal. We use the SOAP system (Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer). To learn more about how the SOAP System works when doing daily devotions and journaling, click here!

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

HELPING A BRUTE BEAST. By Pastor Fernando

SCRIPTURE - Psalm 73:21-26

²¹ When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

²² I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

OBSERVATION

This passage reveals one of the most amazing facts about God's grace and patience with His people. God knows that our flesh and our heart fails, causing us to be embittered, senseless and ignorant, like a brute beast. This description may not be pretty, but it's very accurate. We all have our "brute beast" moments. We often fall into a funk and struggle in our faith, convictions, and even compromise in our behavior. But God's promise is to never leave us and never forsake us. He is the strength of our heart and our portion forever.

APPLICATION

What I love about this passage is that I can relate completely with the description here. I have my times when I behave and think like a brute beast, letting my raw natural instinct direct my ways into the wrong path. Those are the moments when my heart and my flesh fail. But even then, when I walk away from God's presence, I have to say that I don't feel completely alone. Even though I feel ashamed, I honestly sense the presence of God calling me back. His right hand is always ready to guide me back to His perfect will. His crazy love for me overwhelms me, helping a brute beast like me to find strength once again in my heart to become faithful to Him.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly Father, thank you so much for never leaving me alone, especially when my heart and flesh fail me. I don't deserve your faithful love and I could never do anything to deserve it. Please help a brute beast like me to become a faithful and willing servant. Be my strength and my portion forever. Help me to live out my faith, so when I say that I love you, it's truly a testimony of my daily life. Amen!