May 24 | Collection of Daily Devotionals

Daily Devotion: May 23, 2024
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May 24
"Sarah bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of
which God had spoken to him" (Gen 21:2).
The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His
heart to all generations" (Psa 33:11). But we must be prepared
to wait God’s time. God has His set times. It is not for us to
know them; indeed, we cannot know them; we must wait for
them.
If God had told Abraham in Haran that he must wait for thirty
years until he pressed the promised child to his bosom, his
heart would have failed him. So, in gracious love, the length of
the weary years was hidden, and only as they were nearly
spent, and there were only a few more months to wait, God told
him that "according to the time of life, Sarah shall have a son."
(Gen 18:14.)
The set time came at last; and then the laughter that filled the
patriarch’s home made the aged pair forget the long and weary
vigil.
Take heart, waiting one, thou waitest for One who cannot
disappoint thee; and who will not be five minutes behind the
appointed moment: ere long "your sorrow shall be turned into
joy."
Ah, happy soul, when God makes thee laugh! Then sorrow and
crying shall flee away forever, as darkness before the dawn. --
Selected
It is not for us who are passengers, to meddle with the chart
and with the compass. Let that all-skilled Pilot alone with His
own work. -- Hall
"Some things cannot be done in a day. God does not make a
sunset glory in a moment, but for days may be massing the
mist out of which He builds His palaces beautiful in the west."

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"Some glorious morn-- but when? Ah, who shall say?
The steepest mountain will become a plain,
And the parched land be satisfied with rain.
The gates of brass all broken; iron bars,
Transfigured, form a ladder to the stars.
Rough places plain, and crooked ways all straight,
For him who with a patient heart can wait.
These things shall be on God’s appointed day:
It may not be tomorrow-- yet it may." 1
May 24
THE JESUS POISE
Mar 12:35-44
The heart should join with the mind in holding the reins of the
life. They ought to drive abreast, not tandem. Then lips and
purse and life will ring true, and ring together. Not the heart
without the head; not the head without the heart; each
balancing the other: all the powers working in unison. This
reveals the Jesus touch, and gives the Jesus poise. But it’s
possible really, practically, only as Jesus is in control. 2
May 24
THE SECRET OF THE QUIET HEART
"Be still, and know that I am God." — Psa 46:10.
"Sit still, my daughter, for the man will not rest, until he have
finished the thing this day." — Rth 3:18.
PARADISE HAS vanished from our world, as the picture of a
landscape vanishes when swept by storm. And our race stands
in much the same plight as did Naomi and Ruth in this old-world
1
Streams in the Desert (Mrs. Charles E. Cowman) Published in 1925; public domain.
2
The Bent-Knee Time (Samuel D. Gordon) Published in 1918; public domain.

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story. We have lost our inheritance, and the one barrier which
stands between us and despair is the Person and Work of our
Lord Jesus Christ. But, thank God, we need have no doubt as to
the sequel. For as Boaz claimed back the estate for Ruth, so
may we be confident that Jesus Christ will never be at rest till
this sin-stained and distracted world is restored to her primitive
order and beauty, as when the morning-stars sang for joy.
Jesus is our near Kinsman by His assumption of our nature. He
is the nearest and dearest Friend of our race, who stooped to
die for our redemption. And the fact that He carried our nature
in Himself to heaven, and wears it there, is an indissoluble bond
between us. Sit still! do not fret! He will never fail, as He will
certainly never forsake!
Let us seek the quiet heart in our prayers. Prayer must arise
within us as a fountain from unknown depths. But we must
leave it to God to answer in His own wisest way. We are so
impatient, and think that God does not answer. A child asked
God for fine weather on her birthday, and it rained! Some one
said, "God didn't answer your prayer." "Oh yes," she replied,
"He did, God always answers, but He said No!" God always
answers! He never fails! Be still! If we abide in Him, and He
abides in us, we ask what we will, and it is done. As a sound
may dislodge an avalanche, so the prayer of faith sets in motion
the power of God.
In times of difficulty—be still! Thine enemies are plotting thine
overthrow! They laugh at thy strong confidence! But hast thou
not heard His voice saying: "This is the way, walk ye in it"?
Then leave Him to deal with thy foes from whatever quarter
they come. He is thy Rock, and rocks do not shake. He is thy
High Tower, and a high tower cannot be flooded. Thou needest
mercy, and to Him belongeth mercy. Do not run hither and
thither in panic! Just quietly wait, hushing thy soul, as He did
the fears of His friends on the eve of Gethsemane and Calvary.
"Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him." "Be still, for He will
not rest, until He hath finished the thing this day."
PRAYER

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If this day I should get lost amid the perplexities of life and the
rush of many duties, do Thou search me out, gracious Lord, and
bring me back into the quiet of Thy presence. AMEN. 3
May 24
Love and Courage
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and they were
sore afraid — Luk 2:9
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping and seeth two
angels and she turned herself back, and saw Jesus — Joh 20:11,
Joh 20:12, Joh 20:14
The Shepherds Were Afraid
We do not like to associate fear with Bethlehem. Fear seems to
be banished from the picture. We associate Bethlehem with joy
and singing, and with the springing up of glad and glorious
hope. Our Christmas hymns are among the gladdest hymns to
be found in the whole range of Christian praise. Even waifs and
strays, and desolate, lonely people are conscious of an inward
warmth at Christmas. And yet these shepherds, out on the
hillside, and "simply chatting in a rustic row," were (as Moffatt
puts it) terribly afraid. They were not careless nor irreligious
men. Eastern shepherds were very rarely that. Their converse
with the solitudes of nature kept their hearts alive to awe and
wonder. Yet when the angel of the Lord appeared, in some
sudden and overwhelming flash of glory, these hardy men were
terribly afraid. The unseen world was breaking in on them.
Invisible presences were near. That hidden realm which lies
beyond the grave was revealing its mysterious secrets. And
though their trust, as simple faithful shepherds, was in the God
of Abraham and Isaac, an awful dread fell upon their hearts.
But Mary Magdalene Was Not Afraid When the Angels
Spoke to Her at Jesus' Grave
3
Our Daily Walk by Frederick Brotherton (F. B.) Meyer. Published in 1893; public domain.

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Now the singular thing is that when we come to Mary there is
not a trace of that commanding terror. And yet if it struck into
the shepherds' hearts we should expect to find it here
intensified. They were hardy and courageous men; she was a
delicate and shrinking woman. They were together, in
strengthening companionship; she was all by herself in the dim
dawn. They were out on the hills, where sheep were bleating,
and where every bush and streamlet was familiar; she was in
the presence of a grave. Fear falls upon the heart more readily
when some intense experience has exhausted it. No such
experience had reached the shepherds; Mary had come through
Calvary. Yet there is not a trace in Mary's instance of that
gripping and overpowering fear which seized the shepherds
when they saw the angels. She did not flee. She did not faint.
She saw them, and she continued weeping. The angels spoke to
her and Mary answered, as if she were talking with some village
friend. And so little did they disturb her heart that she did not
even continue gazing at them, but, having spoken, turned
herself about. One could not imagine the shepherds doing that.
Terror held their eyes. Had a wolf howled, and any sheep cried
piteously, I question if they would have even heard it. What,
then, had happened? What made the difference? What banished
that overwhelming dread in the intrusion of the realm unseen?
Mary's Love for Jesus' Made the Difference
The difference lies in Mary's love for Jesus, a love of which the
shepherds were quite ignorant. They came to the innumerable
company of angels; she to the Mediator of the better covenant.
We all know how love can banish fear. The Apostle tells us there
is no fear in love. In the strength and passion of her mother-
love, the timidest of mothers will grow brave. And the love of
Jesus had so mastered Mary, and captured every tendril of her
heart, that fear took to itself wings and flew away. it was a
fearful thing to be out in the dim dawn, beside a grave, and
near those Roman soldiers, it was a fearful thing within a
sepulchre lo be confronted with these unearthly presences. But
just as mother-love will drill out fear when a beloved baby is in
peril, so the love of Jesus drove out fear from Mary. To have

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known Jesus had made all the difference. To have loved Him
had slain a hundred terrors. To be perfectly certain of His love
for her had swallowed up her womanly timidities. A woman with
a woman's heart, she was stronger than these hardy sons of
shepherding, because Christ had come into her life.
Haunting and Mysterious Fears Can Be Banished in Your
Life
And that is what always happens in a life, amid the presences of
the unseen and the unknown. To banish haunting and
mysterious fears takes more than the natural courage of the
heart. No one would charge these shepherds with being
cowards. They would have laid down their lives for the sheep.
Amid familiar and expected dangers they were easily equal to
their problem. But let unseen and mysterious fingers touch
them, and flashes betray the nearness of eternity—and dread
awakes, and sudden pangs of fear, and piercing terrors in the
stoutest heart. No natural courage can keep such fears at bay.
They haunt and darken every human heart. We all move
through a mysterious universe, and from irruptions we are
never safe. But one thing we do know, and even Mary was not
sure of this, that neither height nor depth nor life nor death can
separate us from the love of Christ. in that love, given and
returned, lies the dismissal of a thousand fears. We do not
tremble now when the unknown assails us, nor when the finger
of death is on the latch. We are like Mary, very near a
sepulchre, in the dim dawn, amid unearthly things, but
undisturbed, untroubled, unafraid—because Christ has come
into the life.4
May 24
Morning
"Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer." —
Psa 66:20
4
Devotional Sermons by George H. Morrison from "The Glasgow Pulpit Series". Published in 1902-1928; public domain.

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In looking back upon the character of our prayers, if we do it
honestly, we shall be filled with wonder that God has ever
answered them. There may be some who think their prayers
worthy of acceptance-as the Pharisee did; but the true
Christian, in a more enlightened retrospect, weeps over his
prayers, and if he could retrace his steps he would desire to
pray more earnestly. Remember, Christian, how cold thy
prayers have been. When in thy closet thou shouldst have
wrestled as Jacob did; but instead thereof, thy petitions have
been faint and few-far removed from that humble, believing,
persevering faith, which cries, "I will not let thee go except thou
bless me." Yet, wonderful to say, God has heard these cold
prayers of thine, and not only heard, but answered them.
Reflect also, how infrequent have been thy prayers, unless thou
hast been in trouble, and then thou hast gone often to the
mercy-seat: but when deliverance has come, where has been
thy constant supplication? Yet, notwithstanding thou hast
ceased to pray as once thou didst, God has not ceased to bless.
When thou hast neglected the mercy-seat, God has not deserted
it, but the bright light of the Shekinah has always been visible
between the wings of the cherubim. Oh! it is marvellous that the
Lord should regard those intermittent spasms of importunity
which come and go with our necessities. What a God is he thus
to hear the prayers of those who come to him when they have
pressing wants, but neglect him when they have received a
mercy; who approach him when they are forced to come, but
who almost forget to address him when mercies are plentiful
and sorrows are few. Let his gracious kindness in hearing such
prayers touch our hearts, so that we may henceforth be found
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit."
Evening
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ." — Php 1:27
The word "conversation" does not merely mean our talk and
converse with one another, but the whole course of our life and
behaviour in the world. The Greek word signifies the actions and

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the privileges of citizenship: and thus we are commanded to let
our actions, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, be such as
becometh the gospel of Christ. What sort of conversation is this?
In the first place, the gospel is very simple. So Christians should
be simple and plain in their habits. There should be about our
manner, our speech, our dress, our whole behaviour, that
simplicity which is the very soul of beauty. The gospel is pre-
eminently true, it is gold without dross; and the Christian's life
will be lustreless and valueless without the jewel of truth. The
gospel is a very fearless gospel, it boldly proclaims the truth,
whether men like it or not: we must be equally faithful and
unflinching. But the gospel is also very gentle. Mark this spirit in
its Founder: "a bruised reed he will not break." Some professors
are sharper than a thorn-hedge; such men are not like Jesus.
Let us seek to win others by the gentleness of our words and
acts. The gospel is very loving. It is the message of the God of
love to a lost and fallen race. Christ's last command to his
disciples was, "Love one another." O for more real, hearty union
and love to all the saints; for more tender compassion towards
the souls of the worst and vilest of men! We must not forget
that the gospel of Christ is holy. It never excuses sin: it pardons
it, but only through an atonement. If our life is to resemble the
gospel, we must shun, not merely the grosser vices, but
everything that would hinder our perfect conformity to Christ.
For his sake, for our own sakes, and for the sakes of others, we
must strive day by day to let our conversation be more in
accordance with his gospel. 5
5
Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon. Published in 1865, 1868; public domain.

May 24 | Collection of Daily Devotionals

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