DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS TRUTH!

DIFFICULTIES ARE A GIFT FROM GOD!

Psalm 119:65-72

You have dealt well with your servant,

O LORD, according to your word.

Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in your commandments.

Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I keep your word.

You are good and do good;

teach me your statutes.

The insolent smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

their heart is unfeeling like fat,

but I delight in your law.

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.

In this portion of our psalm, the writer shows us the value of difficulties and that all of the difficulties in our life come ultimately from the hand of God. He acknowledges that before the work of God he had gone astray. The actions of the Lord were not surprising, because God had always dealt with him according to His word.

The psalmist knows that he needs God to teach him good judgment, which he will learn through God’s providential dealing in his life. He has learned to believe in God’s word, and has decided to keep it. I tend to complain when difficulties come into my life, when things do not align with what I want, and I totally miss the loving hand of God guiding, redirecting, and correcting my ways. Affliction is good and useful! We should welcome it in our lives, as its goals should be the same ones that drive our lives.

What a simple and true statement, when the writer says that God is good and does good. We completely miss this truth when we think that other people have power over our circumstances, that has not been ordained by God’s goodness. We have said it before, but I need to be reminded every day, as I tend to forget: God’s hand is behind every event, every circumstance in my life. There is no action that touches my life apart from what God, in His goodness, has allowed me to endure. His goal is to cause me to love Him more and more, and to love His Word.

Yes, there will always be people who behave sinfully around me. They seem insensitive to what is right, but their actions should not drive me to bitterness and rebellion. Rather, they should catapult me into the arms of God.

John 15:4-5

        Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

How foolish I am, when I resist the work of God in my life that drives me into His arms!   How easily I forget that, apart from God, that I cannot do anything of any value. I get frustrated when things seem to deter my plans, instead of embracing my redirection by the sovereign and loving hand of my good God and Savior.

The psalmist has arrived at the conclusion that affliction not only is acceptable, but it is also good. Difficulties are not to be avoided, but they should be embraced. God’s redirection and correction should be expected and invited, as they prod us toward our goal to be like Christ and to produce fruit that is eternal.  

I am so unwise in my decisions, that I should be grateful for God’s intervention in my life. Naturally, I tend to gravitate towards the things of this world. But as the psalmist concludes this section, God’s law is more attractive than riches.

May we be driven by a sincere desire for godliness, rather than personal comfort. I know that I would have avoided much pain and sin, if I had not rebelled against the distress that God was placing in my life. God has always dealt well with me, even though I have not been quick to recognize this and be thankful.

Are there things that did not go according to your plans lately? Rest assured that they were exactly what our good God intended, and that they are good for you!