Agony is Spiritually Invigorating

Psalm 119:66-68,71-72,75,92: "Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees . . . .The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold . . . . I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me . . . . If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction."

Did you know that agony is spiritually invigorating? The Psalmist looks back upon his past and sees that he had gone astray from God; but God, in His Divine wisdom introduced hardship and affliction into the rebellious life of the writer to bring him to a point of crisis. Either the Psalmist could become angry at God and others for his misfortunes, or he could remember that peace, contentment, fulfillment, and blessing come through intimacy with the Lord. Of course, this intimacy necessitates confession of sin and submission to God.

In hindsight, the writer sees that it actually was good for him to experience the "affliction" so that he could come to his senses. It brought him to a point of reckoning, that transformed him into one desirous of knowing God and appreciating the fact that submission to our good and loving Lord is ultimately the best path in life.

Have you experienced pain from decisions that you now know were the result of your going astray from God and His expectations for you? My hope for you is that you can see these trials as an opportunity for you to come to the awareness that obedience to the Lord is the road to His divine blessing. James MacDonald in his book, Downpour, supports this thought when he writes, “that circumstance . . . that situation you would plead with God to change, that thing you hate that He allowed because He loves you-will you let Him call your heart back and more deeply into Him? . . . . God has a purpose for the pain . . . . God is relentless in His pursuit of us. His love is not a pampering love; it’s a perfecting love. The pathway to revival is through pain. God calls you back through pain, further and deeper into Him (pg. 33-34).”