God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9

In one of my favorite cartoons, the first frame shows a man sitting in a rowboat in the middle of a flood asking, "Why me, Lord?" The next frame shows the man with an expression of surprise on his face and a voice from heaven saying, "Do you want a list?"

In a way we are like the man in the boat. We have a hard time accepting the unpleasant things in life. We invariably ask "Why me?" as if God's punishment is the reason for our lost job, illness, or financial problems. Our text makes it clear that our hard times are not to be regarded as God's ultimate goal. God does not want us to suffer wrath but, on the contrary, to have a joyful life overflowing with abundant blessings, the greatest of which is eternity in heaven. He will finally bring us to the salvation He planned from the beginning. To that end Jesus came into the world, suffered, died, and rose again. His blood washes away all our sin so we may enter God's presence as His forgiven children.

We need not ask "Why me, Lord?" in fear or anger. In Christ Jesus, God's purposes for us are only good. Let us praise Him for appointing us to a salvation that will never end!

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 37-39    2 Peter 2

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