On Being Tested

Psalm 66:12

"we went through fire and through water; 

yet you have brought us out to a spacious place."

 The writer of Psalm 66 obviously thinks God is behind all the suffering Israel endured. The writer believes God punishes for sins committed. That is why the writer says in Verse 10, "For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried; you brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water."

I don't think for a minute that a merciful God brings on the scourge of a  Pandemic to determine whether we are good or bad people. Neither do I think Covid-19 is a punishment for sin. 

I do think life circumstances can feel like a test.  Every time I put on a mask and breathing becomes more difficult, it feels like a test. When I get disturbed by cabin fever, it feels like a test. When Elaine and I go grocery shopping and see empty shelves, it feels like a test. Not of whether I can breathe, or how I will handle confinement, or endure changes, or see empty shelves, but of how I will react. Will I be able to endure the downward burden my soul feels?  Will I be able to maintain my faith? Do I see God at work?

It is here that verse 12 helps me see the Goodness of the Lord. "you have brought us out to a spacious place" A merciful God sends the Spirit to strengthen us through refiners fire and floods that leads us to a spacious place of God's hope. The writer of the psalm says it this way, "But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.