Daily Bible Devotional: Commentary on Psalm 55

Psalm 55:22: Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

As a child growing up, I never attended a regular church. The closest I ever got to a church was attending a local church one Sunday morning. Why my parents had decided for me to do this I have no idea, because all I remember was going that one time. Oddly enough though, I always “knew” about God growing up. I always felt there was a God and I even prayed to him. I don’t know why I prayed, or how I even knew to pray but I did. The only reason I can think of is because God must have impressed something in me as a child.

It wasn't till my mid-twenties when I started to take God more seriously. Going through a horrendous divorce, I found myself reaching out to anyone, anything that would save me from the pain. My pain and disillusionment was so bad that I spent many sleepless nights wrestling with what ifs, whys and the biggest question of all for me: What is the purpose in all this? Why has this happened to me? Where is God in all this?

Thanks to a loving friend who brought me a Bible in the hospital one day, I started to read and found myself being encouraged by some of the things God had to say in His book. After I went home, the Bible sat pretty lonely on my shelf but I felt comfort knowing it was there. Somehow I felt there were a lot of my questions that could be answered in this book, so I kept searching and reading.

One particularly bad night I cried out to God to help me. Struggling again with sleep, I opened up the Bible and started reading right where I opened it. The chapter was on a man named Job. For those who know about Job, you know how hard his life was, yet he never gave up. He lost everything in life except his faith in God.

He lost his family, his lands and even his physical health. His friends wondered how he could even carry on in his faith, yet Job persisted.

I think the reason Job persisted is because he knew that he a had a purpose in life and he knew that no matter what, God was there with him through everything. His story gave me encouragement, maybe because misery loves company but Jobs misery was far worse than mine! Eventually Jobs life was restored though, and he came out an even stronger man in his faith. I liked that because this was exactly what I had been looking for – examples of people that had gone through hardship but made it through!

Many years later, I reflect back on those days and remember how discouraged I was. I thank God that he came into my life and showed me that no matter what, He did have a purpose for me and for everything I had suffered. At the time though, I could not see that. Pain had blinded me into believing that life was not worth living. But God, in his infinite care, showed me that there were others like me, like Job, who had suffered greatly and came out alright.

Something to think about: The next time you feel miserable and all alone, open up the book of Job and read what Job went through. It will help your reflect on your own circumstances and help you have a different perspective on life. You are here for a purpose!

Coming soon: My new 365 day devotional

This is just one devotional in a series of 365 devotionals that will one day be a book - both in hard cover and for the Kindle. All the text in this is my own (except of course for the Bible scriptures) I will be using the NIV (New International Version) for most of my reference to scripture. All the photos used will also be my own photography. If you would like to see more of my art and photography you can also visit me at www. dorsidiaz.com where I will also be chronicling this new book, along with my ideas for writing, marketing and creating e-books for aspiring writers. Thank you for reading!