OUR DAILY BREAD 24 JULY 2024 DEVOTIONAL, WEDNESDAY ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread 24 July 2024 Devotional TOPIC: Our True Refuge Is God
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Psalm 91:1-2,14-16
KEY VERSE: I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Psalms 35-36; Acts 25
TODAY’S INSIGHT
No author is given for Psalm 91. However, because verses 1-2 continue the theme of God as “our dwelling place” introduced in Psalm 90:1, some scholars suggest that Moses wrote both psalms as an exposition of Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your refuge.” The psalmist warns of threats, insidious traps, deadly diseases, unexpected events, physical attacks, and disasters that endanger us (Psalm 91:3, 5-6). This psalm doesn’t promise exemption from such dangers, but it assures us that there’s refuge in God (vv. 9-16).
Those who “trust” Him (v. 2), who love Him (v. 14), and who pray to Him (v. 15) need not fear. Various vivid metaphors are used to describe the security and safety He provides: “shelter of the Most High” and “shadow of the Almighty” (v. 1); “refuge” and “fortress” (v. 2); “shield and rampart” (v. 4); and “dwelling” (v. 9).
Our Daily Bread 24 July 2024 Devotional – MESSAGE
After his wife died, Fred felt he could endure the pain as long as he had his Monday breakfasts with his buddies. His fellow retirees lifted his spirits. Whenever sadness came, Fred would think about the next time he’d enjoy their company again. Their corner table was his safe place from grief.
Over time, however, the gatherings ended. Some friends became ill; others passed away. The emptiness led Fred to seek solace in the God he’d met in his youth. “I have breakfast by myself now,” he says, “but I remember to hold on to the truth that Jesus is with me. And when I leave the diner, I don’t leave to face the rest of my days alone.”
Like the psalmist, Fred discovered the safety and comfort of God’s presence: “He is my refuge . . . in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2). Fred came to know safety not as a physical place to hide, but as the steadfast presence of God that we can trust and rest in (v. 1). Both Fred and the psalmist found that they didn’t have to face difficult days alone. We too can be assured of God’s protection and help. When we turn to Him in trust, He promises to respond and be with us (vv. 14-16).
Do we have a safe place, a “corner table” we go to when life is hard? It won’t last but God will. He waits for us to go to Him, our true refuge.
REFLECT: When life is hard, what’s your safe place? How can you turn to and trust God as your refuge?
PRAY: Dear God, You’re my safe place. Yours is the presence that will never leave me to fend for myself. Your help and protection surround me always.
Our Daily Bread 24 July 2024 Devotional, Wednesday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.