The biblical writers were very honest! What God says through them is refreshing, helpful, hopeful, truthful… and sometimes challenging.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Technically, it’s anonymous. Verse 71 says: “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”

Can you repeat that again? Did that just say that it was “good” to be afflicted? 

That can be a tough thing to hear. But listen to what the author says next. It was good for him to be afflicted “so that I might learn your decrees.” There is something about hardship that drives us deeper into the wisdom of God.

In fact, the well-known German reformer Martin Luther said there were three rules for the study of theology, summarized in these three Latin words: oratio, meditatio and tentatio. By these he meant prayer, meditation on Scripture (not the other kind), and affliction. Notice the third idea—that affliction helps you study the things of God.

The author’s perspective in Psalm 119 is noble. I’m not exactly sure what his situation was, and I’m not exactly sure what your situation is either. Some of you are dealing with affliction that was foisted upon you by someone else. Some are dealing with affliction that just happens—like a health issue. Some are perhaps even dealing with the difficult consequences of a bad decision from long ago.

Either way, perhaps there is something to learn through affliction—perhaps about the reliability of God’s promises, or about who you truly are as his child, or where you need to grow in Christlikeness as you deal with the ups and downs of life. 

Prayer, meditation on Scripture, and affliction. These three things can be a doorway to greater wisdom, humility and strength.

I don’t enjoy affliction. I’m sure you don’t either. But perhaps there is something to learn for the glory of God.

“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”

---

Notes and extra content:

–“You can only have harmony if you’re singing the same song.” Sermon. June 16, 2024. Click here.

—On Air! Did you know you can help support The Up Devotional on morning radio as it reaches thousands of people at 8:15 a.m. on Ontario’s LIFE FM Christian Radio Network? Visit this link to learn more, hear a sample, or make a tax deductible donation.

—Coming soon! My interview with Tim Barnett about his new book with Alisa Childers: “The Deconstruction of Christianity.”

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.