Day 3: Chosen for inheritance
It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You loved them (Psalm 44:3).
Sovereign God, our Father, long ago You established Your covenant with Abraham, and You gave him Your assurance, “Do not be afraid... I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). You promised him, "Through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed..." (Genesis 22:18).
In Your unfailing love You kept Your promise to Abraham and his descendants, showing Yourself mighty on their behalf although they were the fewest of all peoples (Deuteronomy 7:7). They were to prove the truth of Your word, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance (Psalm 33:12).
Your covenant was greater than even Abraham imagined. For through Your covenant Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the people You chose for Your inheritance would ultimately be a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language (Revelation 7:9).
And to Your children of light today, just as in the past, You are our shield and our great reward. You are still God—The Lord Almighty is Your Name...You are called God of all the earth (Isaiah 54:5). You are still sovereign over affliction and storm, terror and tyranny, destruction and havoc (Isaiah 54: 11, 14,16). And You are still the only Deliverer, the only Savior:
No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine (Psalm 33:16-19).
Teach us to live, Father, as children of light. When we cry out like David, "Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me (Psalm 69:15), remind us that Your light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). Help us to trust You for victory through Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face.
Remind us of the incredible blessing that You, our God, are the Lord—that You have chosen us for Your inheritance. Remind us of the encouragement from the apostle Peter:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade...kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power... In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1:3-6).
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