Hi friends and welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread.

Our reading was written by Lisa M. Samra, and she titled it God's powerful presence.

In 2020, celebrations marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S.

Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. Old photographs show marchers with banners

emblazoned with the words of Psalm 6811, the Lord giveth the word. The women that publish the tidings are a great host. In Psalm 68, David describes

God as the one who leads the oppressed from their captivity, refreshing and renewing his weary people

from his bountiful riches. In this Psalm's 35 verses, David references God 42 times, revealing how he's constantly been with them,

at work to rescue them from injustice and suffering. And a mighty throng of women proclaim this

truth. Whether the women who marched for voting rights fully understood all that Psalm 68 was declaring,

their banners proclaimed a timeless truth. God, the father to the fatherless, and a defender of

widows, goes out before his people leading them to places of blessing, refreshment, and joy. Be encouraged today, remembering that God's

presence has always been with His people, and in a special way with the vulnerable and suffering.

As in the past through His Spirit, God is still powerfully present with us today.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 68, verses 4 through 14.

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds. Rejoice before him.

His name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families. He leads out the prisoners with singing,

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. When you, God, went out before your people,

when you marched through the wilderness, the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain before God,

the one of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You gave

abundant showers, O God. You refreshed your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it,

and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor. The Lord announces the word and the women

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