December 4, 2025 Devo

December 4th, 2025

Walking Through the Psalms
“My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me?” – Psalm 119:82 (NLT)
“A Prayer for Those Who Are Straining”

Straining. That word jumped out at me. It’s the perfect description for so many people I know right now. Maybe it’s a perfect description for you. Some of us are straining to hold it together. Others of us are straining to get it together. Some of us are straining to keep going. Others of us are straining to get going. Some of us are straining not to run away. Others of us are straining not to run back. Some of us are straining in our jobs, while others of us are straining in our marriages. Some of us are straining in our health, while others of us are straining in our finances.
Many of us, like the psalmist, are straining to see God in all that we’re going through. If you feel like you’re at one of those breaking points today, you’re in good company. There are a LOT of people who are straining and struggling to keep their heads above water. Maybe the prayer of the psalmist, “When will you comfort me?” is the prayer you’ve been praying recently. You’re straining to hold on. Sometimes, when we’re straining under the load, we need someone else to hold it for a minute while we catch our breath. Can I do that for you today? Let me offer you a moment of reprieve while I pray this prayer over you:
“Father, lift this burden from your child for a moment. Lift the heaviness from their heart, the anxiety from their minds, and the pain from their soul. They are straining under the load of all they are carrying. We believe that your promises are true and that you are on your way. We believe that soon the day will come when this moment will be in the ‘answered prayers’ column of our life’s ledger. But our faith is beginning to weaken, and our spirits are growing weary. We need you. Breathe into your child today a fresh new breath of life. Let them feel the lightness of your Presence and the renewed energy of your Power. Let them place upon you today all that they bear. Let them lay down in the hollow of your Hand and experience what they haven’t felt in a long, long time. Rest. Put your hand upon their shoulder, and give them assurance that your Promise is on the way. As you hold their world upon your shoulders, remind your child today that you hold them, too. Soon these days will be over, and a New Day will come. No more struggling, no more striving, and no more straining. Hold onto us as we hold onto your Promise. In your precious name we pray, Amen.” That’s God’s Word for you today.