"Praise Through Trials"

By Zach Wood

Psalm 89:1-2

I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.  I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

 

 

 

I am sure many of you, if not most, are aware of the recent I-35W Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis last Wednesday evening.  First of all, it was shocking to realize how close we were to such a horrific and tragic event!  Second, it was unbelievable to hear how fast the event happened!  As my wife and I watched the news for almost 3 hours that evening, our hearts just broke for those involved.  As we sat and watched, we lifted up prayers to God asking Him to comfort and strengthen those involved with the rescue and recovery mission.  Jill and I just sat there on the couch saying "I just can't believe this actually has happened!"

 

The night that I am writing this devotional, my wife and I took a trip to Minneapolis after I got off work and we drove to the bridge to see the damage with our own eyes.  It is hard to share words with you on the devastation we saw.  We stopped at several locations to get better views and witness the sights of a terribly demolished bridge.  It was just so unbelievable to see it in such ruin with vehicles still on it.  My heart and prayers went out to people who are still grieving through the process of losing loved ones and those who have loved ones missing.  It was such a tragic event. 

 

What I am moved and inspired by is how many people have mentioned their prayers for others and the families after this tragic event.  I believe many people praised God for surviving the collapse of the bridge.  It gives many the feeling of having a second chance at life after having survived something so devastating.  There have been so many people interviewed on TV saying how blessed they are to have lived to tell about their experience.  

 

God is faithful and He takes care of His children.  I cannot explain why He chose to take some people's lives through this event.  That I do not know the answer to.  He is God and I am not.  What I do know is that no matter what happens on this earth, God is in control and we can praise Him through our trials, no matter how devastating they are.  I have been reading through the book of Psalms and the words of David have inspired me so much that I wanted to share this passage with you this week.  I just wanted to share this story of the bridge and its survivors to explain how people praise God through trials they experience.  We can learn a huge lesson from them.  Praise God through your trials, because they make you a stronger person.  David went through numerous trials and he learned to give God praise.  

 

Trials are just a part of life.  How do you deal with them?  Do you praise Him and let Him be in control?