From: Morning by Morning Devotional reading November 10 The eternal God is thy refuge. (Deuteronomy 33:27 KJV) The word refuge may be translated “mansion” or “dwelling place,” and it gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fullness and sweetness in the metaphor, for our home is dear to our hearts, even if it is the simplest cottage or the smallest room. Far dearer is our blessed God, in whom we live and move and exist (Acts 17:28). It is at home that we feel safe. We shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. In the same way, when we are with God, we fear no evil (Psalm 23:4). He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge. At home, we take our rest. It is there we find rest after the fatigue and toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when wearied with life’s conflicts, we turn to Him, and our souls dwell at ease. At home, we set our hearts at liberty. We are not afraid of being misunderstood or of our words being misinterpreted. So it is when we are with God; we can commune freely with Him, laying open all our hidden desires. If the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him (Psalm 25:14), then the secrets of those who fear Him should and must be with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness. In the same way, it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in Him that far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labor. The thought of home gives us strength to bear the daily burden and get our work done. In this sense, we can also say that God is our home. Love for Him strengthens us. We think of Him in the person of His dear Son, and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer compels us to labor in His cause. We feel that we must work, for we have brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father’s heart to make glad by bringing home His wandering children. We want to fill the sacred family among whom we dwell with holy delight. Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their refuge! Amen glory to Jesus

November 7 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. (Isaiah 49:16) There is no doubt that a part of the wonder that is found in the word Behold is brought about by the unbelieving cry of a preceding declaration: Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14). How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astonishing than the unfounded doubts and fears of God’s favored people? The Lord’s loving word of rebuke should make us ashamed. He exclaims, “How can I have forgotten you when I have inscribed you upon the palms of My hands? How dare you doubt My constant remembrance, when the memorial is written upon My very flesh!” O unbelief, how strange a wonder you are! We do not know what to marvel at the most: the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people! He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never fails. He is never a dry well. He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a fleeting vapor, and yet we are as continually troubled with worries, plagued with doubts, and disturbed with fears as if our God were a mirage in the desert. Behold is a word intended to excite admiration. Here indeed we have a theme for admiration! Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be inscribed upon the palms of His hands. I have inscribed you. It does not say, “I have inscribed your name.” The name is there, but there is more to it than that. I have inscribed you. Notice the fullness of this! God says, “I have inscribed your person, your image, your situation, your circumstances, your sins, your temptations, your weaknesses, your needs, and your works! I have inscribed you, everything about you, all that concerns you. I have put you there completely.” Will you ever say again that your God has forsaken you – when He has inscribed you upon His own palms?

From: Morning by Morning Devotional reading November 6 I will pour out water on the thirsty. (Isaiah 44:3) When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by punishing himself with dark and dismal fears. That is not the way to rise from the dust, but to remain in it. You might as well chain the eagle’s wings in order to try to make it fly, or to doubt in order to grow in grace. It is not the law but the gospel that saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not the bondage of the law but liberty through the gospel alone that can restore the weak believer afterward. Slave-like fear does not bring the backslider back to God, but the sweet charms of love allure him to Jesus’ arms. Are you thirsting for the living God this morning, and are unhappy because you cannot find Him to the delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of Christ, and is your prayer, Restore to me the joy of Your salvation (Psalm 51:12)? Are you aware also that you are barren, like the dry ground, that you are not bringing forth the fruit unto God that He has a right to expect of you, and that you are not as useful in the church or in the world as your heart desires to be? Then this is exactly the promise that you need: I will pour out water on the thirsty. You will receive the grace that you so much require, and you will have it to the uttermost reach of your needs! Water refreshes the thirsty, and you will be refreshed; your desires will be satisfied. Water revives sleeping plant life, and your life will be renewed by fresh grace. Water swells the buds and makes the fruits ripen, and you will have fruit-bearing grace; you will be made fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good quality there is in divine grace, you will enjoy it to the full. You will receive all the riches of divine grace in abundance. You will be, as it were, drenched with it. As the meadows sometimes become flooded by the rising rivers and the fields are turned into pools, so you will be. The thirsty ground will be springs of water (Isaiah 35:7). Amen

«For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.» ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭33‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.33.4.NIV

«Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;» ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬