Be Still Devotional: Day 22

Devotion for Tuesday March 11
Dr. Roger Patterson | Senior Pastor

Scripture
Psalm 33:20-22
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Devotional Thought
We’ve all misplaced our phone or keys. It’s maddening. And they’re always lost when you’re in a hurry to leave. So, you turn your place upside down searching. You check the dryer, the bathroom, the refrigerator. You look under the couch, in the desk drawer, in your refrigerator. Maybe they’re in the laundry, or they fell next to the bed, or maybe, just maybe, they really are in the refrigerator, and you just missed it the first two times you looked.

Misplaced items frustrate us to no end. But a greater frustration happens in our lives when we misplace our hope.

You see, hope undergirds the well-being of our hearts and lives. It’s the feeling that we have things going in the right direction, and that we can have confidence that all will be well.

We misplace our hope when we attach too much meaning to a new job opportunity; we misplace our hope when we cling to a relationship that we know isn’t good for us, but it’s one we are used to; we misplace our hope when we idolize a person, a transition, or an opportunity that we feel like we deserve.

In Psalm 33, the Psalmist observes so many who have misplaced hopes and declares that he and his family will not be like them. He concludes, “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”

It’s the steadfast love of the Lord and His unchanging nature that we can stake our lives upon. Don’t misplace your hope. Instead, wait for the Lord and trust in Him.

Reflection Questions

• Are you misplacing your hope in something (or someone) other than the Lord?
• What is it about this misplaced hope that you are clinging to and not trusting Him with?

Suggested prayer/action step
Father, help me see where I am not trusting in you, your timing, or your help. Guide me to be like the Psalmist who decides to place his hope in you, not misplace it in something that will fail. May your unfailing love be with me as I rejoice and trust in your holy name.