Skip to main content

No Pain, No Gain


Psalm 119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

   Affliction. Oh that word is not fun to hear or think about. Nobody wants to be in pain or misery. And yet, it says it is good for me?! I don’t think so. But wait a minute. Why is affliction good for me? As children, when we would physically injure ourselves, "Oh you'll be alright. It'll feel better soon." And what would happen? We would eventually forget that we even got hurt or we would be hurt to the point of it leaving a scar. However, over time the injury doesn't hurt anymore, yet we can still see the remnant. God works with us in the same way. He allows the hard times. He allows the pain and affliction to come into our lives. Sometimes it's just a scratch; It's not too bad and we heal pretty quickly. Other times, He allows something that leaves a scar. With the scar comes great lessons.
   Let's take Jacob as an example. God had allowed affliction to come into his life by way of his family. His father favored Esau. Esau wanted him dead. Laban tricked him into having two wives. And when Jacob finally came to the end of himself, that's when God showed up. Then he wrestled with God. Jacob had learned that his affliction was for a purpose.  He walked away from his encounter with God with a limp. Now that's some major scar! But for the rest of his life, Jacob was able to tell others the story of how God worked in his life and why he had the limp.
   What an amazing opportunity that God gives us through affliction. Yes, it hurts and sometimes to the point where we think we will crumble. God never sends us anything He can't handle. We may feel overwhelmed, but He never is. God's sovereignty through our affliction is for us to learn His lessons: To seek Him whole heartedly and find relief only He can provide. We may come out with some ugly scars, but also amazing stories of God's grace and mercy in our lives that He gives us to share.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hills and Valleys

" In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" - Psalm 11:1    Everyone goes through times of difficulty whether it be emotional, physical, mental or all of the above. It's not easy. It's not fun and we struggle. We struggle mostly with the unknown, the uncontrollable. And yet, there are times of extreme happiness. Everything is awesome. Our plans are being followed to a T. It seems as if nothing can get in our way and we feel invincible. We are on top of the world. For sake of this blog, let's call that our hilltop. Most of us have climbed up to the top of something at some point whether it be a mountain or not. It could just be the top of the tallest playground equipment. But we have all enjoyed that feeling of looking around being taller and higher than everything else. Inevitably though, someone wants to come to our vantage point to see what we are seeing and we get shoved out of the way. It was a surprise. We weren...
Post a Comment
Read more

Loading...Please Wait

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." - Psalm 89:34      Don't we love it when God gives us the next step in His plan for our lives? It's an amazing feeling! However, many times we start to rush God. We say, "God showed me... (fill in the blank) . So here's my plan. Now go!" Often, God shows us the next step and says, "I love your plan. Sounds great. You can do that...when I  open that door. Right now, I still need you to wait. There's something else I need you to learn. Something else I need you to get accomplished through this waiting."      If you are anything like me, that is not fun and very frustrating at times. Actually, it is probably the hardest thing to hear and do. Waiting is not natural for most of us. During the waiting time, God sometimes goes "silent". Not that He ever leaves or stops speaking through His Word, He is just patiently waiting for the correct time to tell ...
Post a Comment
Read more