Day 7: By day and by night
“Because of Your great compassion You did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst” (Nehemiah 9:19-20).
Holy God, compassionate Father in heaven, blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise (Nehemiah 9:5).
The psalmist encourages us to ponder the loving deeds of the Lord (Psalm 107:43). He understood how easy it is for us to forget Your goodness and Your faithfulness. And he understood that in recounting Your might and Your power, we are strengthened, and we are encouraged to trust in Your unfailing love.
All through Scripture, You breathe through Your Holy Spirit words of strength, whispers of hope, stories of encouragement. You show us Your mighty hand in the lives of Your people—in the story of Your everlasting love, Your measureless grace, Your flawless guidance, Your faithful provision, Your impenetrable defense.
Looking back, Nehemiah and the people pondered the story of Your sustaining love. They pondered the magnitude of Your deliverance and Your sustaining power: You did not abandon them in the wilderness. You provided light by day and by night to shine on the way they were to take (Nehemiah 9:19).
Lord, still today, the children of the living God (Romans 9:26) are apt to forget, apt to fear. Teach us to meditate on Your unfailing love (Psalm 48:9). Teach us to consider all Your works and meditate on all Your mighty deeds (Psalm 77:12).
You do not abandon us as we go through life's dry, "clodden" stretches—even when they are vast and dreadful, thirsty and waterless... with venomous snakes and scorpions. (Deuteronomy 8:15). You are with us day and night.
You sustain us with Your manna. You provide water out of hard rock (Deuteronomy 8:15). You turn the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs (Psalm 107:35). You gave us Your [Holy] Spirit to instruct us (Nehemiah 9:20 John 16:13). And You shine on our way, making known to us the path of light (Psalm 16:11).
Father, as with Nehemiah and the people, help us to apprehend Your glory, Your goodness, and Your great compassion (Nehemiah 9:5, 19). Lead us to confront our fears, our unfaithfulness and our ingratitude.
Strengthen us in the present as we ponder the history of Your faithfulness. Lead us to sincerely pray: I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago…Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? (Psalm 77:11, 13).
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