Today's Devotional 2021

Our Daily Bread 14 March 2020 Devotional – Better than Life

TODAY’S TOPIC: BETTER THAN LIFE

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23–25, Mark 14:1–26
Today’s Key Verse: Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. – Psalm 63:3

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 63:1–8 (NIV)
1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.s
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.w
8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

Insight
The superscription to Psalm 63 provides the author and setting: “A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.” In verse 11, David refers to himself as “the king,” so we know it wasn’t written when King Saul was pursuing him. Instead it likely was written later during the events of 2 Samuel 15 when David’s son Absalom conspired against his father to gain the throne, gathered supporters, and even enlisted David’s close friend and counselor Ahithophel (vv. 10–12). These events drove David in haste from Jerusalem into the desert (vv. 14, 23).

The Message – Our Daily Bread 14 March 2020 Devotional:

Though Mary loved Jesus—life was hard, real hard. Two sons preceded her in death as did two grandsons, both victims of shootings. And Mary herself suffered a crippling stroke that left her paralyzed on one side. Yet, as soon as she was able she made her way to church services where it wasn’t uncommon for her—with fractured speech—to express praise to the Lord with words like, “My soul loves Jesus; bless His name!”

Long before Mary expressed her praise to God, David penned the words of Psalm 63. The heading of the psalm notes that David wrote it “when he was in the Desert of Judah.” Though in a less than desirable—even desperate—situation, he didn’t despair because he hoped in God. “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you . . . in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (v. 1).

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a place of difficulty, without clear direction or adequate resources. Uncomfortable situations can confuse us, but they need not derail us when we cling to the One who loves us (v. 3), satisfies us (v. 5), helps us (v. 7), and whose right hand upholds us (v. 8). Because God’s love is better than life, like Mary and David, we can express our satisfaction with lips that praise and honor God (vv. 3–5). By: Arthur Jackson

Reflect: How would you describe your attitude when you find yourself in a “desert season” of life? How can Psalm 63 help you to better prepare for such seasons?

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I’m so grateful that I can praise You in the dry, desperate times of my life because Your love is better than life!

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