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A Faithful Father
Listen to today’s devo!
Save me, for I am yours. (Ps. 119:94)
Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:89-96
Martin Luther had daddy issues. He’d dashed his dad’s dreams for him by becoming a monk rather than a lawyer. But even as a conscientious monk, young Martin felt he could never do enough to earn his heavenly Father’s favor. Finally, he came to a breakthrough discovery: Peace with God comes not by my being faithful enough but through simple faith that God is faithful enough to save me for Christ’s sake.
The 2003 movie Luther has a scene that dramatizes this point powerfully. Martin’s monastic mentor, Father Staupitz, finds him arguing aloud at the devil as he wrestles with doubts about his salvation. Staupitz counsels Martin to quit trying to out-debate the devil. Instead, Staupitz hands him a small cross and instructs him to pray the beginning of Psalm 119:94. Martin lies facedown on the floor, arms stretched out as though crucified, and starts repeating, I am yours; save me. I am yours; save me. . . .
There are times when I’ve felt overwhelmed by circumstances, and that’s the same prayer that has come to my lips. It appears partway through an eight-verse stanza that celebrates God’s faithfulness in preserving the universe, the human race, and the people who delight in his Word. God is a faithful Father no matter what. And the best earthly fathers and father figures (like Staupitz) direct us toward that fact.
Throw yourself on God’s faithfulness—and help someone else do the same.
Jerome Van Kuiken is professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and author of The Creed We Need (Amazon) and The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed).
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
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By The Wesleyan Church
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Listen to today’s devo!
Save me, for I am yours. (Ps. 119:94)
Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:89-96
Martin Luther had daddy issues. He’d dashed his dad’s dreams for him by becoming a monk rather than a lawyer. But even as a conscientious monk, young Martin felt he could never do enough to earn his heavenly Father’s favor. Finally, he came to a breakthrough discovery: Peace with God comes not by my being faithful enough but through simple faith that God is faithful enough to save me for Christ’s sake.
The 2003 movie Luther has a scene that dramatizes this point powerfully. Martin’s monastic mentor, Father Staupitz, finds him arguing aloud at the devil as he wrestles with doubts about his salvation. Staupitz counsels Martin to quit trying to out-debate the devil. Instead, Staupitz hands him a small cross and instructs him to pray the beginning of Psalm 119:94. Martin lies facedown on the floor, arms stretched out as though crucified, and starts repeating, I am yours; save me. I am yours; save me. . . .
There are times when I’ve felt overwhelmed by circumstances, and that’s the same prayer that has come to my lips. It appears partway through an eight-verse stanza that celebrates God’s faithfulness in preserving the universe, the human race, and the people who delight in his Word. God is a faithful Father no matter what. And the best earthly fathers and father figures (like Staupitz) direct us toward that fact.
Throw yourself on God’s faithfulness—and help someone else do the same.
Jerome Van Kuiken is professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and author of The Creed We Need (Amazon) and The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed).
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.