June 27, 2026 Devo

I recently read one of the most inspiring books that I’ve ever read. It’s called “The Shining Light, the Man, Mission, and Movement of the YMCA.” It’s the story of how God used a 19-year-old young man named George Williams to found an organization that has profoundly impacted the world.
George worked in a factory in London. After he gave his heart to Christ, he became deeply burdened for all the other young men at his factory who were so lost in sin and despair. He didn’t know what to do or where to begin. So he began to pray and invited a few other believers to pray with him. On June 6th, 1844, George and eleven others gathered in his dorm room above the factory where they worked and cried out to God. At the end of that prayer meeting, they made a commitment to bond together to share the good news of Christ by loving, helping, serving, and witnessing to the other young men in the factory and around London. They decided to call themselves the Young Men’s Christian Association. And their impact spread like wildfire through the factory, across London, and then around the world.
When you read the book, it’s like reading the Book of Acts from the Bible. None of these young men were anything special. What’s more, they KNEW they were nothing special. They knew that if God didn’t move in their midst, nothing of significance would ever take place. So they prayed as though everything depended on God, and worked and served as though everything depended on them. They were not rich, educated, and had no social status or influence. They simply knew what God had done for them and believed He was the answer others needed as well.
The secret to their success is found in our passage today. “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.” That verse describes these men perfectly. They knew they were nothing, so they prayed as though God was everything. Because He IS. They made themselves totally available to be used by God, but believed that unless God went before them, they were doomed to failure. They certainly weren’t perfect men. But they were utterly humbled, broken, and dependent on God. Their strength, as the Apostle Paul put it, was found in their admitted weakness. So they prayed until God showed up and gave Him all the glory for every victory. That’s probably a great reminder for all of us about how to change our world as well. That’s God’s Word for you today.