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Today's Devotional

Every day has its vexations; but every day has also its blessings and its joys.…The sunbeam that warms me, the drink that solaces the cravings of my thirst, the food which gratifies my appetite, the sleep which invigorates me— all these are blessings. Every day the patience of God bears with me; every day his Spirit operates on my heart; every day I am permitted to edify myself through the word of the Lord; every day I can send up my prayers to his celestial abode; these are my daily joys. And where remain my extraordinary blessings and benefits? The friends, in whose embrace I find contentment; the agreeable intelligence of some wished-for or unexpected event; a victory over my heart; some prosperous occurrence which I had not anticipated; and even, out of every vexation, the blessing of being humble, endued with foresight, and resigned—are not these pure benefits, which indemnify me for all my concomitant distresses? And is not the day itself, in which I live, a free gift of grace? I say, my life is short; but a day is yet shorter than life, and a trouble shorter than a day; while God’s grace endures forever. Would that I might, by this consideration, be prompted to … silence my complaints! … On no day shall I be bereft of opportunities of observing the goodness of my heavenly Father, if I am only attentive to his ways; and I shall every day, however pregnant it may be with disappointments, be still compelled to praise him, if I have but trust in his governance, and comfort myself under all circumstances in patience and hope.…

Soon will dawn those blissful days of eternity, in which there shall be no woes, but only unmixed ecstasy; no punishments, but only perfect grace; no sighs, but only songs of praise. Then you will forget all your afflictions, or if you should remember them, you will rejoice that every day had its vexation.

About the author and the source

Christopher Christian Sturm (1740–1786) was a German pastor known for his ardent faith, which found expression in a book of morning meditations later translated into English.