“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)
What an encouragement this verse is. It acknowledges the experience of daily difficulties. Such was the case for the people in this passage who daily bore burdens imposed on them by their captors. The verse begins with exalting God who is both Lord and Savior then reminds us of the strength and nearness of God. His daily involvement to provide by alleviating burdens that are imposed on us, is positively reassuring. I found myself feeling quite thankful that this verse does not read, “God can probably help you out if you get in a pinch sometime this year.”
This daily provision draws me nearer to God, growing trust in my heart. It reminds me of the line in the Lord’s Prayer that says: “Give us this day our daily bread,” where we are encouraged to ask God to provide our daily, basic needs.
“Daily bread” is like God’s daily provision of manna for the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness. It is beneficial to note that the reason the Israelites were in that predicament in the first place was because of their faithlessness and contempt toward God for refusing to believe they could inhabit the Promised Land he was giving them. You can read about that in the book of Numbers, chapters 13 and 14.
Yet we see that God provides daily sustenance for them throughout the forty years of wandering, even as they reap the consequences of their unbelief.
These verses cause me to consider the righteousness of God. Righteousness describes God’s character; he will always act with justice, doing what is good and right. The dynamic of God’s justice and goodness is addressed in Romans 11:22-23, when Paul explains how faith-filled Gentile Christians are grafted into God’s family tree, but can be cut off, and how unbelieving Jews are broken off, but can be grafted back in.
“Consider therefore the kindness and the sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”
We see God’s love and severity operating. These verses are both a challenge and a comfort. A challenge to remember that there are standards of maintaining faith that God has put in place that if broken result in consequences. And a comfort that our righteous God offers his people the daily provision of carrying their burdens and providing sustenance. If our faith is in him, we can trust that he will provide in these ways through difficult situations and through the easy-breezy ones!