Sat, 24 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
Why does God allow us to suffer? We don’t always know, but the Psalmist gives us one reason: to teach us obedience.
What do we learn from this?
When everything is going well for us, we have a tendency to fall away from God. We feel independent, and we think only of ourselves. We don’t think of God, of what He has done for us, of our need for Him, or of our responsibility to serve and obey Him. When we are content with ourselves and our circumstances, we think we don’t need God and we drift away into disobedience.
But when circumstances change, and things start to go wrong for us, we immediately remember God. The afflictions we face get our attention and cause us to realize how we have lost our moorings and have drifted away from God. In our times of fear and pain, we remember God, and repent of our sin. The troubles draw us back to Him.
It shouldn’t be that way, but unfortunately, that is how we are. When we are prospering, we tend to forget God. When we suffer, we return to Him. God knows what is best for us, and when we are suffering, at that point, it is best for us to suffer. Perhaps it is what we need to draw us back to Him, because in our suffering we learn obedience.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Our sufferings serve a purpose. God can use them to draw us back to Him.
Christ’s sufferings also served a purpose. It was in His suffering and dying on the cross that our sins were paid.
