Devotions: Momentary Pain or Eternal Joy

 

Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:4-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

It is good to sing praise to God! To give thanks to Him! Why? Because His anger is momentary but His love and kindness are forever. Sorrow comes in the night, but joy comes with the dawn. In the dark times, it feels like the pain will last forever. It’s hard to have hope when we can see no way out. It’s hard to have joy when life is crashing in around us. It is in times like these that we need to think with our minds rather than our hearts. We need to rely on what is true rather than what we feel. God is good. He is sovereign and in control, and He loves us. Those truths never change no matter what our circumstances may bring. There are times when we suffer the consequences of our sin, but God’s judgment and discipline are temporary. His love endures through it all no matter what we do. We will face pain and sorrow in this life, but it is not permanent. Joy will come after if we will praise God and give thanks to Him. It is possible to stay in the dark times forever. However, it is not because God leaves us there, rather it is due to our unwillingness to look to Him and follow Him out of the doldrums, or our unwillingness to repent. That is why we need to sing praise and give thanks. They help carry us through our trials and out into the light. We know that He is good. We know that eventually these trials will end, so we should praise Him for who He is and thank Him for what He has and will do.

What do you have for which you can thank God right now? How can you praise Him today? For what do you need to repent?

 

 

 

To view a video of this devo, visit my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/evelynbray.author

To receive these devotions daily, like my page or subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription box to the right!