Daily Devotional For Saturday, May 9, 2026
Good morning and good day folks. Following the One Year Chronological Bible reading for today, our Scripture comes from Psalm 28:1-2:
“I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. (2) Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary” (NLT).
Have you ever felt that your prayers were getting no higher than the ceiling? Sometimes it may feel as if our spiritual life is enveloped in darkness because we are in a tunnel of waiting on the Lord. In 1979, the Eisenhower Tunnel was completed under the Continental Divide 50 miles west of Denver. For 1.5 miles on I-70 you drive underground and your only lights are your headlights and the lights in the tunnel itself. Before the Tunnel was completed, your drive was longer and many times in the winter prior to completing this tunnel, the interstate would be closed due to snow and ice. As you exit the tunnel, if it’s a sunny day, the brightness of the sunlight hits you as if to say, “You made it!”
As we read Psalm 28, it is as if David is in a tunnel and hoping to be out soon. There are times we all feel as if the Lord is distant and our prayers are going anywhere. As we read Psalm 28 it can be comforting to us to know that there were times David felt alone from God. So, what do you do when you have poured out your heart to the Lord, even in tears, and it seems heaven is silent? Our tendency may be to panic as we wrongly tell ourselves that God has abandoned us when He tells us in His Word just the opposite (Matt. 28:20b; Rom. 8:35-39).
In Psalm 28:3-5, David feared that God might drag him off and treat him like the wicked. We fear those who have the power to change our lives. For example, you get a letter from the IRS saying they are going to audit you for a period of years of tax returns. Even the most honest person is going to have some fear, knowing the power the IRS agent has. But what if God puts you in the same box as those doomed to hell and tells you He is going to drag you from His Presence? This would scare you to death.
God hears every whisper and every thought. Nothing is missed by Him, not even our thoughts (Ps. 139:4). When David refers to God being deaf, he is not referring to literal deafness as we might think. He is referring to being ignored by God or God giving him the cold shoulder. This is why David in verse 2 reminds God that He is a God of mercy, not that God has to be reminded. We have to be reminded. When we feel alone, isolated or being ignored, our imagination has a tendency to kick-in and feed us with the wrong thoughts and feelings such as paranoid, panic and perplexity. Our imagination is a great thing God has given us until we allow it to control and rule us.
In Psalm 27:14, David wrote these words, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord” (NLT). It is amazing how quickly David went from reminding himself and us to wait patiently for the Lord in Psalm 27 to panic from waiting in Psalm 28. We are no different. For example, ever tried to call someone repeatedly and they did not answer? Or text someone over and over and they do not respond? What happens? Your imagination takes over with panic and/or anger. In the digital and technological age, no one wants to wait for anything. This is not just limited to the young, but it is now characterized by those who are older. Our impatience reveals we think we are the center of the universe and the whole universe should respond immediately to our beckoned call.
Studies have shown that the average person with the average lifespan will spend up between 5- 7 years of their lives waiting (most studies say 7), which is approximately 11% of a person’s life. For example, you will spend 6 months waiting at red lights and 43 days waiting on the phone when put on hold. According to studies, if you live to be 80, you will have spent 13 months of your life using the toilet. I found this funny. The average man who lives to 80, will spend 3 weeks of their lives waiting for their wives to finish shopping. Even now in our own little town, waiting in traffic has become an issue that you have to now include that in your travel time to somewhere. What used to be our own little Mayberry, has now become our own little Wayberry. We attempt to see how we can navigate our way faster and sooner around all the traffic. We hate to wait!
Reflection Assignment: When God seems silent, how do you respond and react during that waiting time? Do you wait patiently? Do you dive deep into the Word? Do you pray more intensely? Do you just quit and give up in despair? God allows us to go through periods like this for a reason. Why do you think He does this and how would you help someone else going through a period like this?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 143:7, “Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, there are times it seems You are a million miles away even though I have Your Holy Spirit living in me. As I wait in that dark tunnel patiently, I want to trust that the Light of Your grace I will see again. Help me not to wander from You or quit in distrust of You. I praise You that You will never, ever leave me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly