Bible Studies

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The Scriptures
Psalm 66:8-20 - What God has Done
Key Verses: (NCV)

• 9: "He protects our lives and does not let us be defeated." - We may experience pain and suffering but never defeat.
  
  
• 10: "God, you have tested us; you have purified us like silver." - Silver is purified by fire. God's objective is to make us holy; even Christ-like. He will do everything in His power to make that happen even if it means that we will face the purifying fires of pain and suffering.
  
  
• 12: "You let our enemies walk on our heads. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place with good things." - We may never understand the ways of life but we can be assured that God "knows the plans (He) has for (us)…, plans for (our) welfare and not for harm, to give (us) a future with hope." (Jeremiah 29,11 - NRSV)
  
  
• 16: "All of you who fear God, come and listen, and I will tell you what He has done for me." - The psalmist cannot contain his joy. God has done amazing things in his life and he wants to share this good news with everyone he can.
  
  
• 19-20: "But God has listened; He has heard my prayer. ²⁰Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or hold back His love from me." - God listens to our prayers.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Have you experienced God's protection? Even though you have experienced difficult and challenging times, have you felt God's comfort and assurance? When your life is filled with worry and anxiety has He stilled your troubled heart and filled you with a sense of peacefulness? When you have faced uncertainty and doubt has He led you to the right paths and to the areas of ministry He wants you to follow? When you were surrounded by adversaries and foes, did He erase the fear growing in your heart? When you have feared for scarcity, loneliness, or hope has His blessing caused your cup to overflow? Do you recognize that "goodness and mercy will follow (you) all the days of (your) life?" (Psalm 23:6 NRSV)
  
  
• Have you ever been tested by God? Has your faith been refined through the fires of persecution, pain, and suffering? Has God let your "enemies walk on (your) head?" Have you passed "through fire and flood" in order to be "brought to a place with good things?" Perhaps you have difficulty with the concept of God sending pain and suffering into our lives. Do you accept that God will use every situation you face in life as a teaching moment? Do you realize that God is constantly providing you opportunities to learn, grow, adjust, understand, expand, and shine? Are there impurities in your life so deeply imbedded that they may require the fires of God's purifying love to reach in and separate them in order to make you the holy person He has created you to be?
  
  
• Has God heard to your prayers? Has He ever let you down in times of need? As you look back at your times of struggle can you see that God was always with you? That even if your struggle and pain seemed to last forever, you see evidence God answered your prayers and He used this time to grow you stronger in your faith? In the midst of pain, loss, or hopelessness, can you see the blessings that God continues to pour into your life? In what ways is God using your painful experiences to expand His kingdom on earth? Will your experiences help others? The psalmist cries out… look "what He has done for me." Are you willing to take your pain and turn it into a blessing for others?
  

Promise of the Gospel:

During times of pain and suffering we tend to question the presence of God in our lives. We wonder why. We wonder if He is listening to our prayers. We lose faith. We get angry. But in the midst of it all, we pray. We pray without ceasing because we know that we need God's help. We need His love. We need His presence. We may never get over the pain and loss we experienced. Sadness, hopelessness, and even anger, may encase our hearts. However, when we look back at those difficult times we see evidence that God was not only present but He answered our prayers. It is in this knowledge that opportunities for ministry will open to us as we exclaim to world to look at "what He has done for me."

FUMC Devotionals
Faithwriters Magazine

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