Reason for praise

I praise you, LORD, because you have saved me
and kept my enemies from gloating over me.
I cried to you for help,O LORD my God,
and you healed me;
you kept me from the grave.
I was on my way to the depths below,
but you restored my life. (verses 1-3)

Read Psalm 30

Again and again we just have to stop and sing praises to our wonderful God, don’t we? Look at these verses and see again what he has done for us.

God has saved me. We are sinners and deserve nothing but death. But Jesus took our sins in his body on the cross for us. Isn’t that a reason for praise?

God has kept my enemies from gloating over me. Our three enemies of sin, death and the devil have no more power over us. Jesus, by his death and resurrection, has defeated our enemies.

God has healed me. Jesus came to cure us of all our illnesses of body, mind and spirit. He is our great healer.

God has kept me from the grave. Because of Jesus’ death for us, death has no more power over us. We need not fear death, because Jesus has brought us eternal life with God.

God has restored my life. Jesus came and gave his life for us, so that he could restore our life. Now we can have life in all its fullness.

Aren’t these great reasons for giving God praise?

Dear God, all I can do is repeat the praises in this psalm. I praise you for your love in saving me, for keeping my enemies from gloating over me, for healing me of all my diseases, for keeping me from the grave and for restoring me and giving me new life. Amen.

by Merna Thamm, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

Visit the Daily Devotion archives page.