May 30 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"For the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights" (Prov. 3:12).

Devotional

Hard and harsh thoughts of God will be the effect of wrong interpretations of his dealings. If for a moment we take the eye from off the heart of God in the hour and depth of our trial, we thus prepare to heed every dark suggestion of the adversary. The instant we look at our circumstances with a different mind and at God with an altered attitude, we view the chastisement as the effect of displeasure. And we view the covenant God who sent it as unkind, unloving, and severe.

But let faith's eagle-eye pierce the clouds and darkness and behold the heart of God as still love, all love, and nothing but love to his afflicted, bereaved, and sorrow-stricken child. In a moment every complaint will be hushed, every rebellious feeling will be stilled, and every unkind thought will be laid in the dust. Instead, "he has done all things well" (Mark 7:37) and "in faithfulness he has afflicted me" (Ps. 119:77) will be the only sounds uttered by the lips.

Therefore, beloved, if you would have your heart always fixed on God, its affections flowing in one unbroken current towards him, then always interpret every dispensation that he sends in the light of his love.

Never allow yourself to be betrayed into the belief that any other feeling prompts the discipline. Do not give place to the suggestion for one moment. Banish it from the threshold of your mind the moment it seeks an entrance.

And let this be the reflection that hushes and soothes you to calm, even as an infant upon its mother's breast—"My God is love! My Father is unchangeable tenderness and truth! He is doing it, and he does all things well."

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
holy his will abideth;
I will be still whate'er he doth;
and follow where he guideth:
he is my God: though dark my road,
he holds me that I shall not fall:
wherefore to him I leave it all.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
he never will deceive me;
he leads me by the proper path;
I know he will not leave me:
I take, content, what he hath sent;
his hand can turn my griefs away,
and patiently I wait his day.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
though now this cup, in drinking,
may bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking:
my God is true; each morn anew
sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
and pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
here shall my stand be taken;
though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
yet am I not forsaken;
my Father's care is round me there;
he holds me that I shall not fall:
and so to him I leave it all.

(Samuel Rodigast, 1675; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.