Morning
The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion.
Do not fear … ,” says the Lord, “for I am with you; … I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you.” § “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer … “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. “O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires.”
I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.
Lam. 3:31–32; Jer. 46:28; Isa. 54:7–8, 10–11; Mic. 7:9
Evening
God has chosen the weak things of the world
to put to shame the things which are mighty.
When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud … a left-handed man … After him was Shamgar … who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.
The Lord turned to [Gideon] and said, “Go in this might of yours. Have I not sent you?” So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me … lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts. § My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
1 Cor. 1:27; Judg. 3:15, 31; 6:14–15; 7:2; Zech. 4:6; Eph. 6:10
