Before I was afflicted, I went astray, But now I keep Your word…It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:67, 71
A former instructor of mine told the story of a brother he once worshipped with who caught a lot of flak for a central part of his prayers in the assemblies. In every public prayer this man offered, he asked the Lord to send them trials. Of course, no one enjoys trials and tribulations, so folks were quite uncomfortable with this peculiar prayer request, essentially telling him he needed to limit his prayers for tribulations to himself. To be fair, no one enjoys comfort more than I do, but the brother in question had a valid reason for his request, odd as it seems to say out loud.
The verses in the opening of this discussion form part of a wide body of biblical writings that highlight the peculiar benefits tribulation brings to the believer who understands it properly. Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, and John all speak to the spiritual benefits of suffering difficulty for the right reasons. In the beatitudes, Jesus called those who mourn and those who are persecuted for His name’s sake blessed (lit. happy, fortunate; Matthew 5:4, 10-12). Paul spoke of glorying in tribulation because it produces perseverance creating character producing hope ending in endurance (Romans 5:3-5; cf. 8:24). James stated essentially the same truth in James 1:2-8 when instructing his readers to “…count it all joy when you fall into various trials” which ultimately produce patience leading to spiritual maturity. Peter likewise spoke of the great value of being grieved in this life as it has a purifying effect on our faith like gold being purified by fire, ending in the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:6-9). And, of course the greatest treatise on suffering is the Revelation of Jesus through the apostle John.
This aligns well with the psalmist’s rationale in Psalm 119:49-56, 65-72 regarding the value of affliction in causing one to cling to the word of God. A few highlights are worth noting specifically here. He begins these two sections of the psalm with the fact that God’s word is the cause of hope even in the face of affliction (vs. 49-50). This empowered him to cling to God’s law even though the proud derided him (vs. 51, 53-56), taking comfort in His judgments (vs. 52).
The second section in view builds on this and highlights the refining value of afflictions. There is a painful, yet inescapable truth revealed in this section. Though we all crave comfort in this life, it negatively impacts the growth of our faith. Much like the one who goes to the gym, does the same painless workout every day, and cannot figure out why he/she is no stronger than at the beginning, so our faith needs to be strained in order to grow stronger. I don’t like this reality any more than you do, but we cannot escape it.
The psalmist said explicitly that he went astray before he was afflicted, but after suffering affliction, he kept God’s word (vs. 67). He later stated that affliction was the catalyst for his learning God’s statutes (vs. 71). Surely this ties in with Jesus’ baffling (at least to His disciples at the time) statements concerning the extreme difficulty riches present to their possessors in entering the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:23-25). The rich young ruler was a good man, but he had a spiritually destructive attachment to his source of comfort.
How many people do you know that became faithful to God only after enduring a painful situation in life? I know many, and I am sure you do too. The best things that happened to me in a span of almost eight years (2002-2010) all made my life difficult. From losing my chosen career to a recession to suffering a knee injury that forced surgery and nearly cost me another job, I finally turned from my apostasy and returned to the Lord. Though we do not enjoy struggles in the moment, may we always look for their value to our eternal souls and grow stronger thereby.