If Your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction. Psalm 119:92
Hi Sweet Friends!
Today, I'm in Psalm 119. Oh, the wisdom that is in this long Psalm! Specifically, I'm focusing on verses 67, 71, 75, & 92. They all deal with affliction, those difficult and often painful circumstances we at one time or another all find ourselves in. Afflictions can be small, or they can be life changing. But one thing we probably all agree on is we don't "want" our lives consumed with afflictions. But, guess what? Our troubles, our afflictions, are not about us. They are about God, sent to teach us things that we wouldn't be able to learn any other way. God uses our troubles to teach us His Word, build our faith, and draw us closer to Him. Let's look at these verses....
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word.
Psalm 119:67
What the writer is saying is that before he was afflicted, he was doing his own thing, going his own way, focused on himself and not really focused on God. God can stop us in our tracks and use our troubles to draw us to Him. This verse is saying that the psalmist was led back to God through his afflictions. He had lived for himself before, but after he obeyed God's Word.
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.
Psalm 119:71
How hard is that to say??!! How can this psalmist call his affliction good? Until difficult times come, our knowledge of God and His Word can be rather theoretical. The psalmist is saying he experienced God's Word, he learned it, through his affliction. Just because we may not like a certain circumstance doesn't mean that we don't need to be there. God has a purpose in ALL things- and that most definitely includes our struggles. Instead of praying, "change my struggles," maybe we should be praying, "teach me through my struggles."
I know, O Lord, that Your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
Psalm 119:75
We know God is good. He is righteous and faithful. We can trust Him in the bad times because of who He is. God works through the bad times as well as the good. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing is a mistake. We live in a world full of sin. So bad things are going to happen. But our God is sovereign and He can use everything for His purpose.
So how do we make it through our affliction without it defeating us? Verse 92 gives the answer:
If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:92
God's Word. The Holy Bible. Immerse yourself in it. Delight in it. Study it. Pray it. Know it. Obey it. Cling to it. Let your troubles drive you deep into His Word. You will be drawn closer to Him and your faith will grow.
We can't escape the pains of this earthly life. But there is purpose in that pain. That pain is never wasted. God is good. He has a good purpose. Abide in Him.
Page Details:
I used Life & Lemons and the coordinating Squeeze the Day Printable from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. All orders for the Life & Lemons set June 1-30 will receive the printable for FREE! If you have already ordered the stamp set, please send SNSS an email with your order number and the printable will be emailed to you.
I used a sponge dauber to apply distress oxide ink onto the page. Then I stamped the lemons and lemon slices to complete the background. I stamped the lettering. After printing the printable, I cut out the elements I wanted to use and glued them to the page. You can print them on sticker paper, but I didn't have any, so I just printed it on plain paper. I love both this set and the printable- so many fun uses for both Bible journaling and cards!
I based this post off a sermon on keepbelieving.com called Why Your Troubles are a Gift from God if you would like to read the complete sermon.
Have a blessed week, dear ones! Andrea
