Lutheran Hour Ministries - Canada

Better Than Gold

Monday, June 1, 2026

TEXT: Psalm 119:71-72 - It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

When we struggle with any kind of affliction—issues with physical health, anxiety, workplace, or family trouble, spiritual concerns—it can be difficult, if not impossible, to see anything good about our circumstances. Inspired by the Spirit of God, the psalmist has clearer sight: “It is good for me that I was afflicted.” The psalmist sees beyond his immediate circumstances to the purpose of God. The affliction serves good purpose because through his suffering, the psalmist learns to rely on the teachings of God. The Word of the Lord is worth more than a fortune in silver and gold!

The psalmist is not the only biblical writer to see beyond affliction to the work of God. The apostle Paul suffered a “thorn” in his flesh, yet he saw divine purpose in that physical ailment. The thorn was a messenger of Satan, permitted by God to prevent the apostle from becoming conceited about the many revelations the Lord had given to him (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). The Lord did not remove the thorn, revealing to Paul that His grace was enough. The mighty power of Christ is made perfect in weakness and suffering, as it was at the cross. Paul also explains that in our afflictions we are comforted by our Heavenly Father “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4b). We find peace and hope in the promises of God’s Word and then, in turn, share that peace and hope with others who suffer. Through the trials we experience, God conforms us to the image of His Son.

The psalmist recognized the good in his afflictions because the suffering led him to learn the teachings of the Lord. In days of trouble, we also turn to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Word to bring us forgiveness, peace, and hope. Joining with saints from the psalmist to Paul, we glorify God even through suffering. In our trials we may see more clearly the afflictions endured by our Savior Jesus Christ for the sake of our salvation. We rejoice in the glory of His victorious resurrection and long for the day when we will experience perfect peace and healing in His eternal presence. It is never easy to endure the trouble we face. Yet in that suffering, in the midst of our afflictions, we recognize the truth of the psalmist’s words. The hope and peace to be found in the promises of God’s Word are better than gold and silver.

WE PRAY: Spirit of God, when I endure trials, lead me to turn to the comfort of Your holy Word. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Reflection Questions:

Why is it hard to see beyond our immediate circumstances and still give praise to God?

How did the apostle Paul deal with that thing that was bothering him? What monumental truth did he learn from his situation? See 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

How do you think God shapes and forms us as His children through the things we face in this life?

“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”

Sunday, May 31, 2026

“Hark! The glad celestial hymn Angel choirs above are raising; Cherubim and seraphim, In unceasing chorus praising, Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord: Holy, holy, holy, Lord!

“Lo, the apostles’ holy train Join Thy sacred name to hallow; Prophets swell the glad refrain, And the white-robed martyrs follow, And from morn to set of sun Through the Church the song goes on.”

Choir concerts may last an hour or two or somewhere in between. Enjoying the experience, we wish the music could go on forever. Before the throne of God, the angelic concert does continue forever. That is one task of the holy angels, the cherubim and seraphim mentioned in our hymn. These heavenly messengers were created to serve God and to offer praise “in unceasing chorus” to their Creator. At times the angel choir was summoned for special performances, as when the heavenly host filled the night with light and praise at Jesus’ birth. The heavenly choir rejoiced in the victory of the risen and exalted Savior: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15b). Many earthly choir members cannot resist joining in that particular chorus!

The angels are not alone in their unceasing chorus. In heaven they are joined by “the apostles’ holy train,” that is, the noble procession of those who were eyewitnesses for the risen Christ. Also praising the Lord are the prophets, through whom God spoke to His people. Following along are the “white-robed martyrs,” witnesses for Christ who gave their lives for that witness. They “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” to whom they testified (Revelation 7:14b). All of these continually offer praise, but heaven is not the only place where the unceasing chorus is heard.

All of creation is called to praise its Creator. The sun, moon and stars, great sea creatures, fire, hail, snow, and wind, beasts and birds are commanded to praise the Lord who created and sustains them (see Psalm 148). We who follow Jesus are by no means left out of the chorus. We are told to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” with thankfulness in our hearts (Colossians 3:16b). On Sunday mornings or at home, with brothers and sisters in Christ or alone, we join the unending hymn. In freedom to worship or suffering under persecution, in health or in illness, the body of Christ on earth joins the church in heaven to praise God. Singing aloud or in the silence of grateful hearts, we worship Jesus, the Lamb who was slain to save us. All eternity will never be enough to give thanks for what He has done for us, so we begin now as through the church the song goes on.

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, accept my grateful praise, now and forever! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name,” which is number 940 in the Lutheran Service Book.

Reflection Questions:

Does your church have a choir? Does it have a contemporary worship service? Is there a place in either for you to contribute your musical talents?

What do you think the heavenly chorus sounded like the day of Jesus’ birth?

How does music that honors God fit into your life even when you’re not a church?

A Friendly Recommendation

Friday, May 29, 2026

This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

TEXT: The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

She wasn’t even trying to offer a recommendation. She was just describing it, witnessing to what the book had done for her: “I was so happy it ended the way it did,” she explained. “I just closed the book when I finished it, and cried.”

Usually, when I hear somebody raving about a new book, I’m skeptical. I don’t assume it would do the same for me. But in this case, when she described it, I knew right away I wanted to read it, not just because of her enthusiastic testimony, but because I knew the author. I hadn’t read this book, but I had read another book by the same author, so I knew what she had described would be true, not just for her, but true also for me.

The first verse of the Bible announces God as the Author who made everything out of nothing. The second verse describes the initial condition of God’s creation. And it uses an odd pair of words to do so: “formless and void,” or as other translations have it, “waste” and “empty.” Elsewhere in the Bible, these words describe a wasted land (see Deuteronomy 32:10), or an abandoned city (see Isaiah 24:10), or a kingdom in ruins (see Isaiah 34:11). It’s a strange way to describe the unformed earth, waiting for God’s next creative move.

Why put it in these terms?

It may have been for the benefit of the first hearers of Genesis, for people who were living in a wasteland. And some days their lives felt formless and void (see Numbers 20:3-5). Genesis was written to assure them that the God who is with them in the wilderness is the same God who once made an unformed beginning into a joy-filled end. They are dealing with the same Author.

If you are like me, some of your days feel formless and empty. I don’t feel that way all the time, but in the moments I do, I need a witness who knows our Author. Genesis is one such witness. The opening chapter recalls how, out of a formless void, God made everything “very good.”

Jesus, of course, is the Greater Witness, God’s most friendly recommendation. But He does more than rave about God’s book. He is the Word who writes the book, the Author become human to rescue us from our formless and empty storylines.

God can do this because He’s not like us. He doesn’t sit alone and wait for inspiration. God writes out of generous abundance. He creates from the already full joy of the eternal story of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (see John 17:24).

For God, the story has no beginning and no end. But He made a beginning so we could share in His joy, so that we could help write new chapters and episodes and spin-offs. That’s part of what it means to be made in God’s image. We’re made to create and relate, to collaborate as God’s co-authors, God’s witnesses—a friendly recommendation to a world that needs Him, so that their ending would be in Him, and His joy would be ours, and what has always been true for Him will also become true for us.

WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, out of sin and death and cross, You brought resurrection, forgiveness, and life. Thank You for writing me out of the formless void and into Your Father’s “very good.” Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever cried (or had to choke back tears) at the end of a good book, story, or movie?

How is reading a long book an act of tentative faith in an author?

How is God revealing Himself to you as the only completely trustworthy Author?