- We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. Psalm 74:9 – Asaph, the writer of this psalm, served King David and King Solomon is seasons when Isreal as a nation was safe and secure, so exactly what calamity Asaph is speaking of isn’t settled on. Whatever the situation was, our psalm depicts a dire situation. Enemies had come in seeking to destroy the faith system of Israel. The Temple was ransacked and destroyed. Idols were put in the place of worship of God. The situation got to the point of our verse where they felt there was no longer any prophet of God in the world and no clue when such a season would end. It’s as if their entire system of belief was destroyed and they had nothing left. Yet we know that wasn’t the case for them. Their buildings and leaders may have been gone, but the life of their belief system can never die. Our God can never be destroyed or removed from His place. As we find ourselves is seasons of dire struggle, we too may believe all hope is lost and no one is there to help. If you find yourself there, remember with God there is always a hope and there is always one to help. Maybe our church building is destroyed, maybe our pastors failed, maybe our small group dissolves because of conflict. Who knows how the enemy is going to attack the pieces connected to our faith, but we know he will attack those pieces. Our blessing is knowing that no matter how vile the enemy gets in seeking to strip away the house of our faith, the foundation of Jesus can never be removed. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3487
- They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. Psalms 74:7-8 – They set fire to all the meeting places of God, burning them to the ground. Yet the church is still alive and well today. What we must remember the church building is not the church, the people are. The buildings can be torn down and burned down but God’s church will never die. We must remember that our enemy is going to attack the church, and there will be time when it looks like he has had a victory, but we must remember there is no victory the enemy can have when it comes to a battle against God and His church. Don’t let the superficial wounds to the church make you think the church is dead, the church of God is alive and God is alive and no power of the enemy is going to change that. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1137
- Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs…..We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. Psalm74:4, 9 – From what I can tell commentators aren’t exactly sure what the psalmist meant by “signs,” but they were either national banners being placed in the temple and around the city to show their victory or possibly idols being placed around. Whatever the signs may have been, it was crushing for the people to see them. Those signs meant defeat and that defeat didn’t look to have an ending anytime soon. Those signs were outward signs declaring to the people “God is not with you and cannot save you.” In our story we too will have signs trying to convince of the same message. Maybe it’s a person speaking hurtful things, doors remaining closed, sicknesses not being healed, or families not staying together. These outward signs can come in all shapes but have the same message. They want you to believe God is not with you and can’t save you. In the moments when those signs are bright, loud, and in your face, when the message they are saying is crushing…look to the cross for a different message. The cross is our sign that the enemy has not won and that our God will never leave us. Yes, the enemy will make his presence clearly known, but Jesus has made His presence known too. Our enemy has not and will never win. Our God has not and will never leave. Allow the cross to speak over any and every lie the enemy is seeking pour into you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2034
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