THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 10 MAY 2024, FRIDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Strength and Guidance
TODAY’S READING
Psalm 139:1-12
1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
KEY VERSE: If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. – Psalm 139:9-10 (NIV)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
I will always remember summer 2021 as the time my asthma became severe. My condition had been stable for years, but suddenly I started having a lot of trouble breathing. At times it felt like I was breathing through a straw. Sometimes I was up all night coughing, only getting a little sleep while sitting in a recliner. My lung specialist did tests and tried various treatments, but days turned into weeks, which turned into months. I became greatly discouraged.
I didn’t know how to pray about this — what to say or how to feel. Then on a day when I was especially fearful, I felt God leading me to Psalm 139. As I read verses 7-10, these words stood out to me: “Your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Even if we run out of strength, the Holy Spirit has enough strength and guidance for us all. Whatever we are going through, let’s remember to pause, ask God for whatever we need, and believe that God will help us.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Father, thank you for guiding and strengthening us for the journey. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Even when I am discouraged, God will help me carry on.
PRAYER FOCUS
People with asthma
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The Upper Room Daily Devotional 10 May 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