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Daily Devotional

October 20

Wait for God’s Providential Word Before Making an Important Decision!

In the rush of life, important decisions press upon us—career changes, major purchases, relationships, ministry steps, or financial commitments.

The natural impulse is to act quickly, weigh the pros and cons, consult friends, and move forward.

Yet Scripture consistently teaches a better way: Wait for God’s Providential Word before deciding.

Providence is God’s wise and purposeful governance of all things for His glory and our good. His “word” is not a vague feeling but clear direction through Scripture, the Holy Spirit’s inward witness, circumstances He arranges, and confirmed counsel.

The Living Bible captures this posture of waiting in Psalm 37:7: “Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act.” Proverbs 3:5–6 urges us to trust the Lord completely and not lean on our own understanding, so that He will direct our paths. When we rush ahead of His timing, we often create unnecessary problems.

Abraham and Sarah’s attempt to fulfill God’s promise through Hagar produced lasting conflict.

Saul’s impatience in offering the sacrifice cost him the kingdom.

In contrast, those who waited saw God’s hand clearly.

Moses waited forty years in the desert before the burning bush.

David refused to seize the throne by force, even when Saul’s life was in his hands, and God established him in due time.

Jesus Himself waited on the Father’s hour, saying, “My time has not yet come.”

Waiting is active trust, not passive delay. It means seeking the Lord in prayer, saturating the decision in Scripture, and remaining open to the Spirit’s leading.

God often confirms His will through multiple channels so that we walk in peace rather than anxiety.

Philippians 4:6–7 promises that when we present our requests with thanksgiving, God’s peace guards our hearts and minds. That peace is one of the surest indicators that we have His providential word.

Practical steps help us wait well:

First, identify the decision clearly and surrender it to God.

Second, search the Bible for principles that apply.

Third, pray specifically and listen.

Fourth, seek wise counsel from mature believers.

Fifth, watch for doors God opens or closes.

When His word arrives—through Scripture that leaps off the page, a settled peace, or unmistakable circumstances—move forward in faith.

Until then, rest. God’s timing is perfect. He is never late, and He never needs our hurried help to accomplish His purposes!

At eighty-five, I have learned that the decisions I regret most are those I made without waiting. The ones that brought lasting fruit were those preceded by His clear providential word.

Wait for it.

It is worth the delay.

Bob Lewis

Vietnam Vet

OurDailyBread101.com My nightly blog since 2011

ourdailybread101.com/translations

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If you have questions, please call the 24-Hour BGEA Prayer Line at:

(855) 255-PRAY.

CONTINUE:

Let us Praise Him Daily!

A good way to learn to Praise God is to memorize the first 6 Verses of Psalms 148:

1 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise Him from the skies!

²Praise Him, all His angels, all the armies of heaven.

³Praise Him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars.

⁴Praise Him, skies above. Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds.

⁵Let everything He has made give praise to Him. For He issued His command, and they came into being;

^{6 H}e established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

PLEASE read the last 6 Chapters of Psalms: 145-150 so that you will learn how to Praise God like David did!

If you don’t want to get your Bible, Here they all are, just click on each Chapter and I will read them to you:

PSALMS 145 PSALMS 146 PSALMS 147 PSALMS148 PSALMS 149 PSALMS 150

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JESUS IS:

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH,

THE LEADER,

THE ORIGINATOR,

THE LORD & MASTER,

THE SUPREME LEADER,

OUR HOPE,

1ST BORN FROM THE DEAD WITH AN IMMORTAL BODY TO NEVER DIE AGAIN,

THE 1ST FRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION,

HE IS OUR FESTIVAL OF HOPE,

OUR PARDON,

GIVEN 1ST PLACE IN EVERYTHING,

HAS BEEN EXALTED AS SUPREME OVER EVERYTHING,

IS ENOUGH,

THE FULLNESS OF GOD DWELLS IN US THROUGH JESUS,

JESUS HAS BROUGHT US INTO HARMONY WITH GOD,

HE HAS BROKERED A PEACE TREATY BETWEEN GOD & MAN,

YOU WERE BORN ON THE WRONG SIDE, BUT BY ACCEPTING JESUS

YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT SIDE NOW,

YOU ARE BEYOND REPROACH,

JESUS WAS THE SOLUTION BEFORE YOU HAD A SIN PROBLEM,

NEVER GET OVER WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU!

NOW:

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH:

TO TEACH US TO LEAD OTHERS TO CHRIST!

AMEN!

(You might want to copy those down and memorize them!)

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DAILY BIBLE READING:

>1. Chapter for the DAY in Proverbs;

>2. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the Old Testament AND

>3. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the New Testament Daily:

Chapter 20 in Proverbs for today: (OCTOBER 20 (MT) (ESV)

20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
    and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.^[a]
²The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;
    whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.
³It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
    but every fool will be quarreling.
⁴The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
    he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
⁵The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
    but a man of understanding will draw it out.
⁶Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
    but a faithful man who can find?
⁷The righteous who walks in his integrity—
    blessed are his children after him!
⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment
    winnows all evil with his eyes.
⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;
    I am clean from my sin”?
¹⁰Unequal^[b] weights and unequal measures
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹¹Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
    by whether his conduct is pure and upright.^[c]
¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
    the Lord has made them both.
¹³Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
    open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
    but when he goes away, then he boasts.
¹⁵There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
    but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
¹⁶Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.^[d]
¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
    but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
¹⁸Plans are established by counsel;
    by wise guidance wage war.
¹⁹Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;
    therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.^[e]
²⁰If one curses his father or his mother,
    his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
²¹An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
    will not be blessed in the end.
²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
    wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
²³Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
    and false scales are not good.
²⁴A man’s steps are from the Lord;
    how then can man understand his way?
²⁵It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
    and to reflect only after making vows.
²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked
    and drives the wheel over them.
²⁷The spirit^[f] of man is the lamp of the Lord,
    searching all his innermost parts.
²⁸Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
    and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,
    but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
    strokes make clean the innermost parts.

Proverbs 20:1 Or will not become wise

Proverbs 20:10 Or Two kinds of; also verse 23

Proverbs 20:11 Or Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright

Proverbs 20:16 Or for an adulteress (compare 27:13)

Proverbs 20:19 Hebrew with one who is simple in his lips

Proverbs 20:27 Hebrew breath

CHAPTER 15 ISAIAH for today:

(October 20 (RF) ESV)

15 An oracle concerning Moab.

Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
    Moab is undone;
because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
    Moab is undone.
²He has gone up to the temple,^[a] and to Dibon,
    to the high places^[b] to weep;
over Nebo and over Medeba
    Moab wails.
On every head is baldness;
    every beard is shorn;
³in the streets they wear sackcloth;
    on the housetops and in the squares
    everyone wails and melts in tears.
⁴Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
    their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
    his soul trembles.
⁵My heart cries out for Moab;
    her fugitives flee to Zoar,
    to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
    they raise a cry of destruction;
⁶the waters of Nimrim
    are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
    the greenery is no more.
⁷Therefore the abundance they have gained
    and what they have laid up
they carry away
    over the Brook of the Willows.
⁸For a cry has gone
    around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
    her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
⁹For the waters of Dibon^[c] are full of blood;
    for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
a lion for those of Moab who escape,
    for the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse

Revelation 6

for today: (OCTOBER 20 (NN) ESV)

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a ^vwhite horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out ^wconquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, ^xbright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a ^yblack horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^z“A quart¹ of wheat for a denarius,² and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^ado not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a ^bpale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, ^cand Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^dwith sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the ^ealtar ^fthe souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^gholy and true, how long before you will judge and ^havenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a ⁱwhite robe and told to ^jrest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers³ should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great ^kearthquake, and ^lthe sun became ^mblack as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and ⁿthe stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 ^oThe sky vanished like a scroll that is being ^prolled up, and ^qevery mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave⁴ and free, ^rhid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, ^s“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the ^tgreat day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

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Please Remember:

“CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD!”

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The Steps to Salvation:

> Repent: Repentance means that you are turning away from sin to turn to Christ. It does NOT mean that you will be perfect.

> Believe/Receive: Salvation is through Faith in Jesus and by the Grace of God. Believing means putting your Faith in Jesus and receiving forgiveness of sin.

>Walk in the Newness of Life: Jesus died so that we might live. We walk in the Newness of Life being Born Again by His Blood.

Additionally, if you feel you need someone to Pray for you,

please call the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,

24 Hours/Day, at: 1+855 255 PRAY (This is the same as: 1+855 255 7729).

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GOD THE FATHER IS THE SOVEREIGN KING
AND CREATOR OF THE ENTIRE
UNIVERSE AND BEYOND!

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