Monday Morning Manna
Monday, July 12
Monday Morning Manna
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71
The word afflicted is a verb which comes from the noun “affliction,” a word that means any difficult or painful circumstance. Afflictions come in all shapes and sizes. An affliction can be as small as getting stuck in traffic on your way to work or as large as a terminal illness. Either small or large there is one solution to calm it all. I once read of a lady who did this one thing to lift her spirit every time she was feeling down from affliction. It always worked for her. If things were especially bad, she might have to do it more than once. But the solution, which always lifted her spirits, was an unusual one. She read through Psalm 119.
Have you ever tried that? It’s a very long psalm – the longest one, in fact, with 176 verses and its all worth the read. It is all about God’s Word, and how God’s Word is the greatest thing in the world, the most precious thing imaginable. Here is one verse to consider holding onto – “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word” (Psalm 119:67). At first glance this verse may seem to apply only to those who go astray into some sort of obvious moral sin. But the word “astray” simply means to go our own way, like the proverbial sheep of Isaiah 53:6.
But don’t wait until the time of affliction to start. We need to cling to the Word of God now, and to read and study it now. None of us knows when affliction will come. All can be going well, and then BOOM suddenly the changes start. News shocks us, troubles pile up like mountains, and then they seem to block out the light. When we’re in the middle of affliction, it’s difficult to find internal stability, let alone peace. That’s when we need to dig deeply into God’s Word, because it will sooth our spirits, and connect us with the only source of truly loving, powerful, help and rescue. The psalmist was in so much trouble that he felt he would have perished in his affliction if he hadn’t already made God’s Word his delight.
Today regardless of where you find yourself, heading into or just coming out of, or praying for someone else, find comfort in God’s Word. Turn to God’s Word, and persevere like that lady did, until you hear from Him. He wants to reassure you, and pour His love and power into your life.
Prayer for today: Thank You Father, for giving us Your word – The Bible. Thank You for the Holy Spirit too, which allows the words You’ve recorded for such a time as this to come alive to me. Help me to spend time in it so that I am strengthened in my spirit. Amen.