Day 174: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' Really?
Read: Psalm 119:65 - 72
Whether we like it or not, afflictions are an essential fact of life.
It is not a matter of “if” afflictions come, but “when” afflictions
come. You know, as well as I do, that even with the very best of preventative
measures afflictions still have a way of cropping up. It’s enough to
make one believe that there really is such a thing as “gremlins,” little
unseen creatures whose only goal is to throw a wrench in the works of
all our best-laid plans. We know of course, (at least I hope we do) that
that is not true, but sometimes it sure seems that way. Have a night of
good fun and fellowship, then the next day in bed. But to say: 'It Is
Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' seems weird. It seems to hard to try and follow this logic.
The trials
and tribulations of our life have a way of knocking the wind out of our
sails. One day we’re going along pretty well, when some unforeseen
situation suddenly just blows us out of the water. It is at that
moment, it seems like life, as we know it, will never be the same. But
to say: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' seems to me to be
incredibly contrary to the natural order of things. It can be, no, is,
confusing to say I should be happily afflicted by life suddenly blowing
me out of the water. I am to be blessed when all of a sudden my car
battery dies or I get a bad cold right before a job interview?
Hey, God,... you are kidding right? You know that this does not quite match up, right? And this might just be where God stops us in our tracks. We have to be
careful at this point, however, that we don’t get so focused on our
circumstances that we can’t see or do not bother to look for the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit square in the center of it all. Believe me, that is
an easy thing to do. I know because my battery did die as I was feeling
rushed to a dream job interview I had waited quite a long time for. The
words I said and the things I did in response were, well now, best left
unsaid and left to history (thank God). But to say: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' Nope! That one is too hard to swallow.
But this is where we need to look at the rest of the verse and the next
one. 'That I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better
to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.' There is one thing we
need to get very straight in our thinking today. our afflictions do not
destroy us, but our attitudes, our responses to them can. So what’s
the answer? The answer lies in the choices that one makes when faced
with a difficult situation. G.I.G.O. - God In, Grief Out! With these
thoughts in mind, our choices can be positively affected simply by understanding these basic principles as to why God could, God would, God should so freely plant this thought: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted'.
Let Us Pray:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
Saint Francis of Assisi
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: Psalm 119:65 - 72
Whether we like it or not, afflictions are an essential fact of life. It is not a matter of “if” afflictions come, but “when” afflictions come. You know, as well as I do, that even with the very best of preventative measures afflictions still have a way of cropping up. It’s enough to make one believe that there really is such a thing as “gremlins,” little unseen creatures whose only goal is to throw a wrench in the works of all our best-laid plans. We know of course, (at least I hope we do) that that is not true, but sometimes it sure seems that way. Have a night of good fun and fellowship, then the next day in bed. But to say: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' seems weird. It seems to hard to try and follow this logic.
The trials and tribulations of our life have a way of knocking the wind out of our sails. One day we’re going along pretty well, when some unforeseen situation suddenly just blows us out of the water. It is at that moment, it seems like life, as we know it, will never be the same. But to say: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' seems to me to be incredibly contrary to the natural order of things. It can be, no, is, confusing to say I should be happily afflicted by life suddenly blowing me out of the water. I am to be blessed when all of a sudden my car battery dies or I get a bad cold right before a job interview?
Hey, God,... you are kidding right? You know that this does not quite match up, right? And this might just be where God stops us in our tracks. We have to be careful at this point, however, that we don’t get so focused on our circumstances that we can’t see or do not bother to look for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit square in the center of it all. Believe me, that is an easy thing to do. I know because my battery did die as I was feeling rushed to a dream job interview I had waited quite a long time for. The words I said and the things I did in response were, well now, best left unsaid and left to history (thank God). But to say: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted ....' Nope! That one is too hard to swallow.
But this is where we need to look at the rest of the verse and the next one. 'That I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.' There is one thing we need to get very straight in our thinking today. our afflictions do not destroy us, but our attitudes, our responses to them can. So what’s the answer? The answer lies in the choices that one makes when faced with a difficult situation. G.I.G.O. - God In, Grief Out! With these thoughts in mind, our choices can be positively affected simply by understanding these basic principles as to why God could, God would, God should so freely plant this thought: 'It Is Good For Me That I Was Afflicted'.
Let Us Pray:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/
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