THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 2 JUNE 2024, SUNDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Our Ever-present God
TODAY’S READING
1 Peter 4:1-13
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. – Psalm 34:19 (NRSVUE)
As a healthy 16-year-old, I never expected for my doctor to diagnose me with anything serious, especially not a mental illness like depression. But that’s exactly what happened. I had been struggling with “feeling down” for the last six months or so, always expecting to snap out of it at some point; but over time it slowly got worse. I started to struggle with suicidal attempts and self-harm. Life began to feel hopeless and empty. Because I felt as though God had finally given up on me, I began to give up on myself.
Then one night during my Bible reading, I began studying 1 Peter 4. As I read, I found new hope and a new reason to be alive. I remembered God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:8 — God will never leave us. Yes, we may go through times of suffering, but we can grow stronger in faith by relying on God’s power to equip us to get through the struggle.
God is our strength. God is for us, never against us, and says to us, “I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isa. 41:13, NIV).
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, help us never to lose hope and always to trust in you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Through it all, God gives me hope.
PRAYER FOCUS
Mental-health advocates
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 2 June 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More