OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL READING JULY 3, 2025, THURSDAY ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread 3 July 2025 Devotional, Thursday TOPIC: Jesus—Our Everything
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 25-27; Acts 12
KEY VERSE: Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. – Psalm 63:3
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
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.
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.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
INSIGHT FOR TODAY
The heading of Psalm 63 tells us that David wrote it “when he was in the Desert of Judah.” This indicates that he was either fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 23:14; 24:1) or from his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13-37). It’s more likely that he was fleeing from Absalom because in Psalm 63:11, David addressed himself as “king,” and he wasn’t yet king when Saul pursued him. In the arid desert, David thirsted for God (v. 1), affirming that God is his sustenance (vv. 7-8). With his life threatened, he turned to God instead of his army to rescue and protect him (vv. 9-11). His experience with God’s power and love (vv. 2-3) enabled him to trust Him, praise Him, and rejoice in Him (vv. 4-5, 11). Like David, as we earnestly seek God (v. 1), gratefully celebrate His love (vv. 2-5), passionately remember His faithfulness (vv. 6-8), and triumphantly rejoice in Him (vv. 9-11), our lives can point others to Him.
Our Daily Bread 3rd July 2025 Devotional: MESSAGE
With the referee’s final gesture, wrestler Kennedy Blades became a 2024 Olympian. She pressed her palms together, lifted her hands and eyes to the heavens, and praised God. A reporter asked about her growth over the past three years. The elite athlete didn’t even mention her physical training. “I’ve just gotten super close to Jesus,” she said. Professing Christ as King, she proclaimed that He’s coming again and encouraged others to believe in Him. “It’s Him,” she said. “That’s the main reason why I was able to accomplish such a big thing.” In other interviews, she faithfully declared that Jesus is everything to her and the reason for everything good in her life.
This passion for living a God-centered life reflects David’s confessions in Psalm 63. Acknowledging his desperation for his creator, he said, “I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you” (v. 1). David had “seen” God and “beheld” His “power” and “glory” (v. 2). He declared God’s steadfast love as “better than life” (v. 3). Then, he prayed: “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me” (vv. 7-8). God was clearly everything to David.
Our lives can be beacons that point others to a life-saving relationship with God when Jesus becomes our reason, our everything.
REFLECT: In what ways does your life reflect that Christ is your reason, your everything? What do you need to surrender to acknowledge that He’s your king?
PRAY: Dear Jesus, please help me truly live like You’re my reason, my everything.
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. (Our Daily Bread 3rd July 2025 Devotional)