envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

The Pursuit of Happiness Daily Devotional -39

by David Joynt on February 10, 2021


PHILIPPIANS 4:13 | 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

ROMANS 8:38-39 | 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is my daughter’s life verse. It has a sense related to eventualities: I can handle whatever comes, through Christ. Because the future is unknown and unpredictable this kind of confidence is vital. One of the besetting sins of contemporary life is the vain desire to control all outcomes. Better a deep confidence that every challenge can be met with Jesus, rather than predicted and eliminated.

The dominant sense of this verse is very much like Romans 8:38-39. There is no power greater than that of Jesus Christ. No force that can ultimately take us from His hand or frustrate His good intentions for us. Nothing can break our bond with Him. Not failure, because He forgives. Not death, because He is life. Nothing can separate us from His love. 

Memorize this verse. When you face a difficulty today, say it to yourself and to God as a prayer.

 

Tags: love, strength

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

More from Pastor Joynts Devotionals

return to Pastor Joynts Devotionals