"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (NIV)
What is God saying?
God is not only involved with the big picture stuff (our salvation), but He is also involved with the details (our daily lives). For this He is worth of our praise.
What is God saying to us today?
Many of us Christians claim to be theists (God is active in our world), but in reality we function as deists (God is an absentee landlord). We might see so much pain and suffering in the world around us, and we experience plenty of heartbreak in our own lives, that a lot of us think - at least subconsciously - that there's no way that God can be involved on a day-to-day basis in such a broken world. Yet, this verse serves as a clear reminder that God doesn't simply show up for the big events, but He's active in our daily lives as well. His involvement might be easier to see when we get out of that traffic ticket, or get some unexpected money when we were desperate, or get the all-clear from our doctor. But, it's a lot more difficult to believe that God bears our burdens when those type of things don't happen. So how do we make sense of this verse? Well, God doesn't say that He removes our burdens, but He does carry them. As the saying goes, "Sometimes God doesn't calm the storm; sometimes He calms His child instead." Knowing that God is there with us, even when the outcome isn't what we wanted, gives us a peace and comfort which enables us to keep going.
What is God inviting us to do?
Are you carrying a load of burdens today? God invites us to have faith: faith that He is walking beside us every day, faith that He is bearing the burdens that would otherwise crush us, and faith that He will give us an eternal, burden-free life!