Jesus invites us to approach God the way a child approaches his or her daddy. And how do children approach their daddies? When a five-year-old spots his father in the parking lot, how does he react? “Yippee!” was screamed by a red-headed boy wearing a Batman backpack. “Pop! Over here! Push me!” yelled by a boy wearing a Boston Red Sox cap who scooted straight to the swings.
Here’s what I didn’t hear: “Father, it is most gracious of thee to drive thy car to my place of education. Please know of my deep gratitude for your benevolence. For thou art splendid in thy attentive care and diligent in thy dedication.”
I heard kids who were happy to see their dads and eager to speak to him. God invites us to approach him in the same manner. What a relief!
Psalm 18
The Message
Psalm 18
The Message
18 1-2 I love you, God—
you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
3 I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
4-5 The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat;
devil waters rushed over me.
Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.
6 A hostile world! I call to God,
I cry to God to help me.
From his palace he hears my call;
my cry brings me right into his presence—
a private audience!
7-15 Earth wobbles and lurches;
huge mountains shake like leaves,
Quake like aspen leaves
because of his rage.
His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke;
his mouth spits fire.
Tongues of fire dart in and out;
he lowers the sky.
He steps down;
under his feet an abyss opens up.
He’s riding a winged creature,
swift on wind-wings.
Now he’s wrapped himself
in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness bursts through,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
God shoots his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurls his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean are exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered
The moment you roar in protest,
let loose your hurricane anger.
16-19 But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
20-24 God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
25-27 The good people taste your goodness,
The whole people taste your health,
The true people taste your truth,
The bad ones can’t figure you out.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
But the stuck-up you take down a notch.
28-29 Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;
I’m blazing with glory, God’s glory!
I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the highest fences.
30 What a God! His road
stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.
31-42 Is there any god like God?
Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me,
then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
I’m king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
you hold me up with a firm hand,
caress me with your gentle ways.
You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn’t let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight,
you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.
They cried “uncle”
but Uncle didn’t come;
They yelled for God
and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
43-45 You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I’d never heard of served me;
the moment they got wind of me they listened.
The foreign devils gave up; they came
on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.
46-48 Live, God! Blessings from my Rock,
my free and freeing God, towering!
This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger,
he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
He saved me from the bullies.
49-50 That’s why I’m thanking you, God,
all over the world.
That’s why I’m singing songs
that rhyme your name.
God’s king takes the trophy;
God’s chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children—
always.-
Our daily Bread:
Reading:
Proverbs 3:1-6
View Full Chapter1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Today's Devotion
He was born a slave in the 1860s. A sickly baby, he was sold to a slave owner for the cost of a horse. As a teenager, he witnessed the killing of a black man by a group of white people. Remarkably, George excelled in school, but when he applied to Highland University in Kansas, he was denied admission because of his skin color. Yet through it all, the young man maintained a deep faith in God. George Washington Carver’s life verse was Proverbs 3:6: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
We sometimes feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. We experience setbacks. We find ourselves at a loss for where we should go. But Proverbs encourages us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (v. 5). This is the Bible’s way of saying, “Let go and let God” lead your life.
George Washington Carver followed God’s path, persevering against all odds, teaching himself botany and geology and eventually becoming a renowned scientist. He famously developed hundreds of uses for the peanut plant but also developed methods of crop rotation that revolutionized agriculture in the United States. God has a way of making the best out of bad situations. Whatever you’re facing today, the key is to “acknowledge Him” and listen for His voice. Watch Him open up the paths of your life.
Reflect & Pray
What circumstances are troubling you? How can you seek God’s direction for your life?
Loving God, please help me focus on You always and listen for Your direction for my life.
For further study, read Hope in Sorrow.
Today's Insights
Proverbs 3 emphasizes the benefits of aligning one’s life with wisdom. The advantages of being guided by wisdom as described in this chapter—“peace and prosperity” (v. 2), “a good name” or reputation (v. 4), and “health” (v. 8)—shouldn’t be understood as promises of an easy life. Throughout Scripture, we also find that in this fallen world God’s people often experience great hardship. Instead, the chapter points to the principle that since the world was created by God’s wisdom, human beings are most likely to thrive when they live in alignment with that wisdom.
Peace in verse 2 is the Hebrew word shalom, a rich word capturing not just absence of conflict but flourishing. It describes a rich and abundant life. Shalom points to the world as it’s meant to be. When there’s harmony between God and creation, everyone thrives. Whatever we face, seeking God’s wisdom and direction can bring new life and hope to our situation.
By Oswald Chambers
Edition
Modern Classic
The Service of Passionate Devotion
Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep. — John 21:17
Jesus doesn’t say, “Make converts to your way of thinking.” He says, “Look after my sheep. Make sure they are nourished with knowledge of me.” We think that the work we do in Christian ministry counts as service; Jesus Christ says that service is what we are to him, not only what we do for him. Christianity is not devotion to a work or a cause or a doctrine; it is devotion to a person.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t argue or compel. He simply says that if we wish to be his disciples, we must be devoted to him. When we are touched by the Spirit of God, we see suddenly who Jesus is, and this becomes the source of our devotion.
Today, we’ve substituted ideological belief for personal belief. This is why so many are devoted to causes and so few to him. People don’t want to be devoted to Jesus; they want to be devoted to the cause he started. Jesus Christ the person is deeply offensive to the educated mind of today, to those who don’t want to see him as anything other than a champion of their cause.
Our Lord’s obedience was to the will of the Father, not to the needs of humanity. The saving of humanity was the natural outcome of that obedience. If we are devoted only to humanity, our love will falter, and we will soon be exhausted. But if we love Jesus, personally and passionately, we will be able to serve humanity, even if people treat us like doormats.
The secret of the disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ; its hallmark is unobtrusiveness. It is like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, then springs up, transforming the entire landscape (John 12:24).
© 2026 My Utmost For His Highest
Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37
Wisdom from Oswald
The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L
A Word With You
Fine China – Not Paper Plates at Your House - #10290
June 19, 2026
Ron Hutchcraft
Scripture: Ephesians 4:29
Oh, we have different kinds of meals at our house - "paper plate" meals. You know, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs - if you want to be more frank. And then we have the "fine china meals." We don’t have too many of those, but on some special occasions we break out the fine china. We don’t break the fine china; we break out the fine china. Now, it’s very different the way we treat those two kinds of plates when we’re finished eating. For example, when we have paper plates, we don’t wash them after we’re done. That probably doesn’t come as a great surprise to you. We don’t put them in a nice careful place to keep them there. In fact, we just kind of wad them up and throw them away because they’re disposable. You don't wash those. No big deal!
Now, I'm sure you won't be surprised when I tell you what we do with our china plates. We do wash those. In fact, we put them back in a special place where they are stored until another special occasion. You’d better not drop them or you might be out of the family. I think we know it’s fine china because my wife took something and wrote on the back “Fine China.” Not really. But it’s kind of nice, and we reserve that fine china for special uses. Paper? You throw that away because you know it’s not worth much. So many people I know feel as if they are paper plates and they’re throwing themselves away.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fine China – Not Paper Plates at Your House.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 4:29. It’s a great family verse here: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.” This verse talks about two kinds of talk. There’s the talk that tears people down, and there’s the talk that builds people up.
There’s been some recent social research that shows for every negative comment we get in our lives, we need seven positives to bring us back to zero. Is that pretty much the ratio at your house between you and your children; you and your husband or wife? So, I give you seven praises for every one criticism; seven positives for every one negative. Well, I don’t know that we have to be legalistic about the ratio, but the point is God says here, “Don’t let any tear-down talk come out of your mouth, but only what builds people up."
So, how is the praise ratio at your house? As parents it’s up to us to communicate to our children that they are fine china, uniquely created, that they have valuable gifts in their life that they have to give, and they can’t throw themselves away. See, we do that by building them up.
Too many kids I know feel like paper plates. They’ve been criticized so much, they’ve been told what’s wrong with them, what needs improving, but not what’s right with them. They’re never told the strengths that they have. We parents tend to focus on what’s weak instead of what’s strong, because we figure that’s what they need to work on. But, you know, they need to hear from us over and over again the great strengths that God has put into them. They hear what’s wrong with them all day long in school, “It is cool to be cruel.” So they need your praise; they need your compliments. Not for our glory, but it glorifies the Creator who creates only masterpieces.
Think about what’s coming out of your mouth, and whether it’s more build-up talk or tear-down talk. What’s the ratio between the two? Check up on the kind of talk that’s going on at your house, especially that’s coming from you. You’re building either paper plates or fine china. Tell the people you love what’s good about them. They will be a lot more likely to say no to what’s cheap and to stay reserved for the things that really matter.
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