Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
    who daily bears our burdens.

Some of the imagery in this Psalm is obscure to modern readers, but this verse hits home in any age. God isn’t just a God of sabbaths and festivals, He daily bears our burdens. David went through a lot in many ways, but in the process he learned that God is always there. We also tend to turn to God only in times of difficulty, not realizing that strictly on our own, we couldn’t even draw our next breath. We also need to realize that God isn’t just a “divine watchmaker,” as some in the “Enlightenment” period liked to think, creating the universe and putting it out there and then having nothing further to do with it. At least they realized that the universe couldn’t exist without intelligent design in the first place. However, God is intimately concerned with and for His creation, and specifically mankind. As John said, in the most famous verse in the whole Bible, He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son to redeem it from the sin of rebellion against its Creator. (John 3:16) We need to remember that love isn’t just for special occasions. As David says here, God daily bears our burdens. That truth bears repeating countless times! The better we grasp it, the more filled with gratitude we will be, and gratitude is demonstrably the key to joy and happiness. God is more than worthy of our worship, our obedience, and our love.

God has brought me through a lot over the past 76 years, and He has indeed been there through every minute of it, even when I wasn’t aware of Him. At this point, I have great peace in knowing He will continue to be with me, even if I go through the Great Tribulation described in Revelation. Compared to what He has for me, that will be no big deal! For as long as He keeps me here, I am to be sharing the good news of salvation with all who will receive it, in whatever ways the Lord directs. As a teacher, I delight to pour God’s truth into all who are hungry for it, but I must be careful to apply it to myself even as I do so. I must not be a Pharisee, speaking truth but not living it out! (Matthew 23:2-3) Thankfully, I have found that if I am humble before God, He will meet me where I am and lead me to where I need to be, and that is more than enough.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your daily presence! Help me live in daily submission and gratitude to You, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!