Devotion 19 March 2026

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2

READING: Psalm 130

When we look up to a great mountain, we often feel our insignificance. When we really think about God, we feel our inadequacy. But one of the beauties of God’s grace is that in the moments we feel most unworthy or unsure about coming to Him, we are the most welcomed by Him. That’s what David realised. Our help will always be found in the Lord. He wrote in Psalm 130, “ … put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”

We sometimes think, “I have to get my life in order, then I can really come to God.” But it’s futile to try to reform our lives as a means of gaining God’s acceptance. We can never make ourselves good enough for God.

God is saying, “You have to come to Me so you can get your life in order.” This is not merely a play on words; it is essential to understanding God’s grace in our lives. All true change will begin with God, not us.

We, as followers of Christ, understand even more than David about hope and redemption; that our acceptance is through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. On that basis we come to God as we are, acknowledging that our only hope for change is His power. Our help comes from the Lord, who made all of heaven and earth. He is the source of everything we need to live an abundant life glorifying to Him. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows,” James 1:17 tells us.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). We are promised that God will provide an abundant life to those who "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). We thank God that, despite our less than perfect circumstances and personal inadequacies, He gives us all that we need to serve Him, in a life of abundance and joy.

Prayer

Lord, my life is not perfect and I cannot make myself good enough for You. My only hope is in Your grace. Work in me today by the power of Your might, that I may serve You in joy. Amen