Daily Devotional For Thursday, May 29, 2025
Good morning Southside. Have you ever felt your life or the world was one big merry-go-round spinning, changing so fast that you are left feeling dizzy and out of touch? Isaiah 41:10 says this: “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (NASB). There are times we all want to get off this crazy spinning confusing “merry-go-round” called life. But no matter what you see, remember that God is still in control. He loves you and cares about you. He knows you better than you know yourself.
He knows the state of your health and how many or few dollars are in your bank account. He knows your strengths and your weaknesses, and He has a plan for Your future. And He does not want you to be confused or afraid. Jesus’ life was filled with conflict, yet He was never confused or afraid. He told His disciples this in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (NLT). Peace of mind and heart – peace from both mental and emotional anguish.
Yes, the world can be a confusing place. Yes, it is easy to give in to fear. But Jesus has given us His peace, and that is the peace the world is looking for. Let’s take full advantage of His marvelous gift. Let’s lean on His peace for comfort and share it with other people too. We often think we have to be professional ministers to serve the Lord and if we are not, then there goes our spiritual peace. We live in a world where every believer is called to minister to each other and witness to the lost. The only real requirement is you know and love the Lord. Consider this story below and put yourself in the shoes of the sick sailer and the non-surgeon doing the surgery:
“During the fighting in the Pacific during World War II a sailor on a United States submarine was stricken with acute appendicitis. The nearest surgeon was thousands of miles away. Pharmacist Mate Wheller Lipes watched the seaman’s temperature rise to 106 degrees. The man’s only hope was an operation. Lipes told him, “I have watched doctors do it. I think I could. What do you say?” The sailor consented. In the wardroom, about the size of a Pullman drawing room, the patient was stretched out on a table beneath a floodlight. The mate and assisting officers, dressed in reversed pajama tops, masked their faces with gauze. The crew stood by the diving planes to keep the ship steady. The cook boiled water for sterilizing the instruments. A tea strainer served as an antiseptic cone. A broken-handled scalpel was the operating instrument. Alcohol drained from the torpedoes was the antiseptic. Bent tablespoons served to keep the muscles open. After cutting through layers of muscle, the mate took twenty minutes to find the appendix. Two and a half hours later, the last catgut stitch was sewed just as the last drop of ether gave out. Thirteen days later the patient was back at work” (Source: Donald Grey Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate, pp. 358–359).
If you had been that sailor with the ruptured appendix, knowing if nothing was done, you were going to die, would you still have gone through with this makeshift surgery? If you were the Pharmacist, who had seen this done numerous times by a skilled surgeon, would you risk doing this type of emergency appendectomy? No matter your situation, our Lord will help you get through it even if emergent steps are needed. There is no need for us to worry, fear, fret, pace back and forth, or worse, get drunk to anesthetize the fear and worry. As David writes in Psalm 23, we have these promises from the Lord:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (3) He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness, For His name’s sake. (4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (5) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. (6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, Forever” (NKJV).
It all comes down to trust. Do you trust the Lord or yourself or someone else more? If I were a betting man, my money is on the Lord.
Assignment: What is weighing heavy on your heart and mind right now? Is it a health concern? A relationship concern? A work concern? A concern about your children? A spiritual concern? Give it to the Lord. He is not a make-shift surgeon. He is THE Surgeon who can do what is necessary to pull you through this. So, will you let Him?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I am giving all of this to You. All of it. I am not going to worry or fret any more. You have promised me that You will guide me through all of these concerns. I am going to trust You with it because I have learned the hard way that my way leads to more stress. I am going to do what Proverbs 3:5-6 says. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly