Devotion 5.5.26

Psalm 66

8 Bless our God, O peoples;

  let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living

  and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us;

  you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net;

  you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

12 you let men ride over our heads;

  we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

  I will perform my vows to you,

14 that which my lips uttered

  and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,

  with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;

I will make an offering of bulls and goats.

Today's psalmist is giving a pause to praise God for all he has done. That includes tests and trials. Wait. What? Praise God for some of the pain I've endured in life? Some people ask questions like, "Why God? Why did this happen? If you are a God of love, why do you allow pain and misery to be?"

These questions occur in our lives. Job asked them. David asked them. Prophets ask for the nation of Israel. Jesus, on the cross, taking on the suffering of our sins asks, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27) Pain happens in our sin-filled world. Pain is among hundreds of emotions we experience. We also experience joy, fear, hope, sorrow, and a host of others.

Today's psalmist is saying, "Through all of life's ups and downs, we give thanks, praise and bless you God!" James says it this way, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2 - 4) 

Paul has a similar line of thinking in Romans 5: "2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Pray we have a right attitude that helps us confront the tests and trials of life. Pray that we ask God to lead us through these moments and to take on a posture of praise to Him for the hope we have through our faith. That hope of eternal life in Christ, where pain and suffering are no more. Amen.

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.