“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. — It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” – Psa. 119:67, 71
No one likes to hurt. People go to great extremes to avoid or escape it. But, as strange as it might seem, hurt can help. That might seem like an odd way of getting help, and we certainly won’t ask for it, but it is true nonetheless. As Octavius Winslow wrote, “Affliction is to the believer what the wing is to the lark, and what the eye is to the eagle—the means by which the soul mounts in praise heavenward, gazing closely and steadily upon the glorious Sun of righteousness.” He was right. The advantages of afflictions are many, one of which is instruction.
The Psalmist said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (vs. 71). My dear friend, don’t waste your sorrow. There is a lesson of some sort in it for you. And that’s just one of many benefits. It hurts, but it helps –unless you get bitter. Knowing God makes no mistakes we ought to accept what He appoints or allows. “It is good” for us. Difficulties make us desperate and that can lead to some of the greatest discoveries of our life. The greatest of which is that we need Christ. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
