“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”
Psalm 119:71
Sometimes it takes trials for us to learn the decrees of the Lord. I love the way the Psalmist puts it here, he states that “it was good for me to be afflicted.” How many of us, in the midst of our trials, tribulations and pain can say it is this is a good thing? That thought is mind boggling isn’t it? The other food for thought here, is that the lessons we need to learn may not stick unless they are bundled with some adversity. Let me show you what I mean. For some of us, we had no trouble trusting mom and dad’s word not to touch the stove because it was hot and we would get burned. For others of us, that simple warning was not enough for our obedience, and in that case the school of hurt and pain had to take place before we obeyed the words of mom and dad to stay away from the stove. Yes, for some of us it may have actually have taken the pain of getting burned and getting hurt before we learned the valuable lesson of obedience.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I realize that I quote this verse quite a bit, but this particular verse has been a life verse for me. It is a verse that has gotten me through so many of my most difficult battles over the years that I can not ignore the power that this verse has had in my life. The Psalmist said that it was good for him to be afflicted, but James goes a step further and says that we are to consider it pure joy when we face trials. We are to actually take delight in our trials rather than count them as a drudgery. We are to grow and prosper from our trials, to come out the other side stronger than when we went in. This is why we can consider our trials to be a joy, because we know that the Lord is going to use our school of trial to help us grow stronger in Him.
Delight in God’s word, commands and precepts
“Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.”
Psalm 119:143
When I looked up that word delight in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it said… “a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction, something that gives great pleasure” Despite all of the chaos flying around us at times, we can absolutely take delight in God’s word, His promises, and yes, even His commands! When everything else around us is shifting and changing, God and His word are our constant. They do not change and they never fail. We can delight in the stability of that fact.
“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”
Psalm 119:92-93
When we keep our focus on the afflictions of this life they will inevitably lead us down a path of self destruction. But God has better plans for us. He has plans to preserve our lives as we put our focus on Him rather than our trials. What a joy it is to know that God’s precepts can save us from even the worst of disasters. Please note here that this does not mean we will have smooth sailing. We all know that smooth waters never made an expert sailor out of anyone! It’s the school of trial that gives someone the title of export sailor. Let’s be real here, would you rather be chartered across the seven seas on a ship captained by a novice sailor, or someone who has navigated through some of the most violent of storms? I think many of us would agree that we would all choose the seasoned captain for sure! Delighting in the word of God will allow us to navigate through the largest of storms and come out the other side a seasoned captain. As any sailor knows, storms are going to happen, it is not possible to avoid them all. But what we do in the midst of those storms will determine whether we become spiritually shipwrecked and broken, or merely bruised and battered but spiritually whole.
Benefits of persevering in our trials
We are victorious
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those
who have faith and are saved.”
Hebrews 10:39
Isn’t it comforting to know that no matter what we face in this life we, no matter how hard it gets that we belong to the one who created overcomers! We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed. We belong to those who have faith and are saved! We might not be delivered from our storms, but we will get through them by the grace of God.
We are given great peace
“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”
Psalm 119:165
When we delight, take joy in and love God’s word we will have great peace. A peace that passes all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). That is the beauty of it all. God give us peace in the midst of our trials. I can recall some trials that I have walked through that in the natural I should have been freaking out because of the circumstances I found myself in, but the Lord gave me such a sense of peace that freaking out never even entered my mind. We can have peace in the midst of the storm, but what we choose to focus our attentions on will determine whether or not we will have peace. When we focus on the trials, peace is nowhere to be found, but when we focus on the word of God peace will flood our heart and mind.
Since we are called to peace, let the peace of God rule and reign in your heart (Colossians 3:15).
Call to action
What trial are you facing today? Have you ever considered thanking God for the lessons you are learning, or are about to learn because of this trial? May I encourage you today to find the blessing in this trial that you are walking through. Write down the things you are thankful for that directly relate to your trial. Then you have blessings to fight with if the trial proceeds to worsen, and blessings to encourage you when the trial is over. Remember the Lord has not abandoned you in this time. He loves you and desires for you to draw near to Him, and delight in His word. It’s these little changes in our thinking that can help us get through the toughest of times.
Lord, I thank you for sending us to the school of trial, not for a punishment, but so we can learn and grow in the things of you. Thank you that when we come out the other side of the storm we are no long novice sailors, but seasoned captains. Help us to delight in your word in the midst of the trials and not be distracted by the wind and the waves raging around us. Help us to keep our eyes steadfast on you and your word, because we know that in the midst of it all you will give our hearts and minds great peace. We ask these things in Jesus precious name.
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