It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:71 (NIV)
The Message translates this verse; “My troubles turned out all for the best — they forced me to learn from your textbook.” The literal translation is “good to me that I have been afflicted (the verb here is intensive action) that I might learn your statutes. “
When do we think, “Good to me” when we suffer? Affliction is not pleasant. It hurts, it goes against the grain, and it runs contrary to the philosophy of health, wealth, and happiness. That’s where our thoughts, our understanding, and sometimes our will struggle. Because, while God is focusing on eternity, we’re still stuck on the here and now.
Sometimes it takes affliction for God to get our attention. My husband will testify to that. In his words, “It took a push out of a tree and a thirty-six-foot drop to the ground for God to get my attention. But boy, am I glad He did!”
Though we may not see it this side of eternity, God’s plans are far greater than our momentary afflictions. So let us learn to pray “Good to me, LORD,” even if it goes against our thinking.
Because our Father loves us too much to leave us ‘unfinished.’