Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Psalms 43:1-5
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. Psa 43:2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Psa 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psa 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. Psa 43:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Today’s portion finds David in a difficult position. David’s son and his trusted advisor had both forsaken him, and, as a result, all that was normal and good had been taken from him. His enemy had by deceit turned the heart of the people from the truth and had spread lies to the point that many of the people of the nation had turned away from the truth of the good which David had done for them for many years. At that time, good was called evil, and evil was called good. This is so much like our world today, and David, the righteous ruler, was dethroned.
David became a king in exile, and it seemed that everyone was speaking against him; yet he did not give up hope in his God. He saw that God was his strength, and even in the hard times he was living through, David did not give up the hope of once again coming before the altar of his God. He declared God to be his exceeding joy. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psa 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
Because of his trust in God and because of all that the Lord had done for David, the king looked past the opposition and the demeaning talk against him and maintained his faith in God alone.
For that reason, in the last verse he both chides and encourages himself to look to the Lord and praise Him. This is the lesson for us today. In spite of anything that might happen in our lives, we have God, and He is always sufficient for everything. So, let’s look to the Lord and gain our strength from Him. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. This is the way we can face an uncertain tomorrow and have the joy of the Lord as our strength. There is always hope in the Lord!
Bible Reading for the Year
October 5th, Isaiah 32-33: Philippians 1
Prayer Needs
Please continue praying for Shea Harris, Maggie Harris’s stepson. He’s in the hospital because of his A-Fib. They put him on medication which is helping him, so he will be going home Monday or Tuesday. He will have an ablation later as an outpatient.
Please continue to pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. Pray for healing and strength for her, for the tumors to shrink, and that God will intervene and remove her cancer completely. She has an appointment with her cancer doctor on Tuesday to discuss a possible new protocol. Pray for wisdom and God’s direction.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. The doctors changed his meds which has helped him, and he is getting stronger. Please continue to pray for him. He has his first cardiac rehab Tuesday morning.
Please continue to pray for Faye Smith, Jack Gargis’ sister. She is now out of rehab and is staying with her son. She will start physical therapy soon.
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. She is home and some better but is still weak. Pray for wisdom for the next step forward. Pray for complete healing.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey who has MAC lung disease. The doctor has prescribed a new medication, but he is not tolerating it well. He just received a bad report on his lungs.
Please pray for Shirley Deal, Carolyn Tyson’s sister. She is back in the nursing home and is doing some better.
Please continue to pray for Vickie Dalton. Pray for God’s healing. She has some good days and some bad ones.
Please continue to pray for Beth Buchta. She starts physical therapy on October 19th.
Please continue to pray for Peggy Warren. She is facing some difficult challenges, but seems to be getting some better physically.
Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia