His Mercy Endures Forever – Stepping in the Light

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1

It is difficult for us to appreciate the mercy of God unless we acknowledge our sinful condition. This psalm is written from the viewpoint of the Israelite people as a nation, but it reaches to all mankind in its scope. It is a psalm of thanksgiving for the mercy of God, and its beautiful poetic structure emphasizes the theme by repeating the phrase “for his mercy endureth forever” in every verse. The psalm begins with the foundational premise that God is good. Some people have a difficult time agreeing with this observation of the nature of God because they see the evil things that happen here on earth, and they blame God for allowing them to happen. They think that if God were really good in His nature, He would not allow events that we view as negative to take place. However, as we link together the message of the psalm woven through the repeated phrases, we find several convincing arguments that we do indeed serve a good and merciful God. The psalm sets forth that God is good, that He is preeminent, and that He is the Creator before giving specific examples of God’s goodness to the nation of Israel in delivering them from their enemies and giving them a land for an inheritance. Verse 23 says, “Who remembered us in our low estate.” The Israelites were slaves who did not deserve anything, but God showed mercy to them. Verse 25 points out that God feeds every living thing. He is good to us, whether we realize it or not. Thank God that His mercy still endures today!

Morning: Psalms 135-136

Evening: I Corinthians 12

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“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

If you were to find yourself walking down a path in the dark of night with only an old-fashioned lantern to light the way, you wouldn’t be able to see very far ahead. You would be able to see just enough of the pathway to know which direction to take your next step and enough of the ground to choose the best place for your feet. When it comes to our daily lives, God’s Word is a lot like that lantern. It will not show us the whole path at once, but it is exactly what we need to help us decide how to take the next step.

The Bible is our source of spiritual light, and if we consistently seek God’s direction as we read from its pages, we will always have enough light for our next step along the pathway of life. It is then that we are, in the words of an old gospel song, “stepping in the light.”

The goal of this devotional guide is to encourage you to spend time in the Word of God each day. Reading the passages listed at the bottom of the page will take you all the way through the Bible in one year. The devotional thought for each day is taken from a text within that day’s reading, so even that small daily portion of reading will take you on a journey through God’s Word. It is my prayer that this guide would help you to walk closer to the Lord and that you will find yourself taking each step in the light of His Word.