Answer from God

From Our Daily Bread...

August 24, 2008

God’s Restraint

ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Psalm 76

Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; with the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself. —Psalm 76:10

Augustine said that God “judged it better to bring good out of evil, than not to permit any evil to exist.” Thus God takes the worst evil that men and women can do to us and turns it into good. Even the wrath of ungodly men brings praise to Him (Ps. 76:10).

God has not promised that your life will be easy—indeed it may not be. But He has promised to sustain you in your struggle and uphold you with His mighty arm. If you trust Him, He will empower you to make your way bravely through extraordinary difficulty with faith, hope, and love. The trials God permits in your life will lead to His praise and glory, if only you will abide in Him.

Furthermore, there will be a restraint and a respite. The Hebrew text is somewhat obscure in Psalm 76:10. Literally it reads, “Surely the wrath of man will praise You; the remnant of wrath [God] will bind.” God will use men’s wrath to bring glory and praise to Himself, but when that purpose is fulfilled He will then restrain it.

God will not allow you to be pressed beyond endurance. That is His sure promise. When the lesson has been learned, when the revelation of God’s glory is complete and your soul has been tried and proven—then God will raise His hand and save you. He will say, “No more.” — David H. Roper

When He leads through some valley of trouble,
His omnipotent hand we trace;
For the trials and sorrows He sends us
Are part of His lessons in grace. —Anon.

In every desert of trial, God has an oasis of comfort.