Discovering The Good In Affliction (Psalm 119:71)
As a mother of 4, now grown, children I have learned many things about parenting. One of the hardest things I have learned is that sometimes you have to let you children fall, make mistakes, get hurt, fail, and make choices that you know are not going to have the best of outcomes. There was a strong desire within to shelter my children from these things, to protect them so that they didn't have to suffer and feel the ache that can come from the pains of suffering and struggle. There was a tug of war within my heart. I had such an urge to protect yet at the same time an understanding and want for them to truly learn for themselves the truths I knew (I had experienced) and for them to learn and experience them for themselves. Some things required me to step in and protect and warn and other times I had to let them learn in order to grow and discover for themselves. Parenting is never easy and often times can feel thankless but I persevered in order to try and help prepare my children for life beyond where they were, to ready them to handle and face the many things that life can have in store for them.
Psalm 119:71 was a challenging verse for me to read as one of God's children: "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." I don't like going through affliction, challenges, struggles, or adversity so it is very difficult for me to see these things as good for me. I want to learn without the struggle. Then I am reminded of my parenting and the good that can come to my own children when they face things that are difficult. I think about how hard it is to watch them struggle knowing the whole time the good that they can learn from it all. This is when I think about how God can always step in and intervene on my behalf but sometimes, he knows, I need to go through things in order for me to grow in my faith, my understanding of his love, my understanding of his grace, and for his word to be experienced in my life becoming more than just words on a page. He loves me more than I can understand and knows what I need even if it isn't something I want at the moment. He is a good, loving and caring Father who doesn't delight in seeing my struggle but rejoice in my growth when I learn and discover his truths for myself.
I am going through my own afflictions in life and I struggle at times to be able to see them as good but this verse offers me and anyone else going through affliction hope. God has not left us, he has not turned a blind eye, he has not stopped loving us - quite the contrary. God, our heavenly father, loves us so much and desires us to grow and learn for our own good and blessing. I may not understand fully what the lessons are to be learned but I pray that with the help of the holy spirit I would discover what is to be found in the affliction and emerge stronger and more equipped to live my life the way Lord knows is best, to live a life that reflects my heavenly father's character.
For those of you who find yourself facing affliction I hope that you to will be encouraged to know that God is still there with you and that good is to be found in whatever you are going through. Don't loose hope, you are never alone and with the power of Christ (Phil 4:13) you can endure, grow, and emerge stronger than ever no matter what your affliction may be.
Romans 5:1-5 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
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