Charles F. Stanley - I Lift Up My Soul: Devotions to Start Your Day with God

I LIFT UP MY
SOUL

I LIFT UP MY
SOUL

DEVOTIONS TO START
YOUR DAY WITH GOD

CHARLES F. STANLEY

I Lift Up My Soul
2010 by Charles F. Stanley

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission; those marked TLB are from The Living Bible. 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved; those marked KJV are from the KING JAMES VERSION; those marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Material reprinted from previously published volumesOn Holy Ground, Into His Presence, Seeking His Face, Pathways to His Presencemay have been edited slightly from the original.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stanley, Charles F.
I lift up my soul : devotions to start your day with God / Charles F. Stanley.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4002-0289-8
1. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BV4811.S8155 2010
242'.2dc22

2010020906

Printed in the United States of America

10 11 12 13 14 QG 5 4 3 21

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

PSALM 25:1

Contents

Wake Up to a New Day with the Lord
SCRIPTURE READING: PSALM 143:8 12
KEY VERSE: PSALM 143:8

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

What is it you crave first thing in the morning? Does a steamy, fresh-brewed cup of coffee or tea catch your attention? Does your morning seem incomplete without your usual cereal or plate of eggs? Do you feel as if you cant make it out the front door without reading the morning paper or watching one of the cheerful morning shows?

In Psalm 143:8, David wrote, Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul (NASB). David saw the necessity of seeking God to direct his steps. He looked to God for guidance for the needs of each day.

A sign of spiritual growth is longing to be with the Lord in a time of Bible study and prayer each day. Whether in the morning or at night, is there a time in your day when you spend time with the Savior? Is it a time that you guard jealously?

Henry Ward Beecher said, The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.

Nothing, not even coffee, will begin your day like time alone with God. Seek Him so that you may grow closer to Him. Go into His presence so that you may sing for joy and be glad all your days (Ps. 90:14). When you make plans to meet God, He will place an intimate joy within your heart. Then you will learn to hunger for His Word.

Father, give me a hunger for Your Word. Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning. I lift up my soul to You.

(PATHWAYS TO HIS PRESENCE)

The Goodness of God
SCRIPTURE READING: LUKE 18:18 23
KEY VERSE: PSALM 86:5

You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Concerning the goodness of God, Henry Thiessen explains, In the larger sense of the term, the goodness of God includes all the qualities that answer to the conception of an ideal personage; that is, it includes such qualities as Gods holiness, righteousness, and truth, as well as His love, benevolence, mercy, and grace.

The rich young ruler called Jesus Good Teacher, but the Lord was quick to reply, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone (Luke 18:19 NASB). Faithfully, Jesus was doing exactly what the Father had sent Him to do: point men and women to their heavenly Father. He also was involved in training people to seek God not out of fear, but out of a desire to know and experience His goodness and mercy.

In The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer concludes, Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.

Often we seek Him because we have heard that He is good. But we stop at this point and miss learning about the deeper goodness of God. Make sure that as you discover more about Gods goodness, you also take time to grow in your devotion to Him.

Lord, let me grow in my devotion toward You. I wait each day for a divine encounter with You.

(SEEKING HIS FACE)

The Call of Faith
SCRIPTURE READING: GENESIS 12:1 9
KEY VERSE: HEBREWS 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Suppose you plan a wonderful surprise vacation for your family or friends. The big day finally comes. The car is loaded, everyone has taken care of all those last-minute details, and your tank is full of gas. Everyone piles in the car and fastens seat belts in anticipation of the trip.

Finally someone asks the fateful question, Hey, where are we going? And you say with great authority, Well, I dont know exactly. After the bewildered looks and cries of dismay, probably the only one left in the car with you is the dog, and he isnt looking too certain either. People simply dont make big trips without knowing where theyre goingunless God asks them to. And that is precisely what God asked of Abram and his family: Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your fathers house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great (Gen. 12:12 NASB).

God gave Abram some very important information, but He did not hand him a road map. Why? He wanted Abram and Sarai to trust Him for the journey. Abram did not know where they were headed, but he knew their future was blessed, more than he could conceive.

Are you letting God take you in His direction, or are you still insisting on a travel plan?

Lord, take me in Your direction. Help me learn to walk by faith. I know my future will be blessed, more than I can imagine. No travel plan is necessary for my journeyI need only You as my Guide.

(ON HOLY GROUND)

Satisfying Your Heart
SCRIPTURE READING: COLOSSIANS 3:1217
KEY VERSE: COLOSSIANS 3:15

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Wasnt life simpler when you could plunk down a quarter and get a steamy cup of java? Now, to buy coffee, you must make a hundred different decisions. Would you like a latte, cappuccino, espresso, macchiato, or frappuccino? Flavored with mocha, caramel, vanilla, amaretto, or hazelnut? Would you like it caffeinated or decaf? Tall or grande? The options are endless and create a sense of satisfying whatever your heart desires. It is natural for situations to go from simplicity to chaos when the heart is involved.