Faithful Affliction

Psalm 119:75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

When we talk of affliction, trouble or trial we rarely speak of faithfulness in the same sentence. Yet here David says exactly that. "in faithfulness you have afflicted me." There is an irony here that must hide a secret meaning right? It may not be as difficult to understand as you might think but let's look at it.

David starts this line with an affirmation, "I know that your laws are righteous".

These days we have bibles of every color and size. They come in a variety of different translations and with notes and highlights. It wasn't many years ago that most Bibles came in black, like the Model T. If you got married, you might have gotten a white one, but most were black. Many came with the words "Holy Bible" in gold letters on the front.

With all of the different styles and stripes of Bibles these days, it seems that it has lost some of its "Holiness". Though the Bible is the same, except for version differences, it has become so "common" that it's sacredness seems to have diminished.

Just so you know, it's we who have changed, not the Bible. We have bibles in stacks around our homes yet we don't esteem it. We are so inundated with the world's thoughts that we don't stop to ponder God's Holy Word. We have instant access to commentaries and discourses on Bible topics but we don't fully understand the sanctity of God or His Bible.

David "knew that God's laws (the Bible of his day) were righteous". What the Bible said was true, dependable and holy. And one thing that it said was that God was good. Look at what we might consider an obscure passage in Deuteronomy 32:4. Moses was giving his last speech to the Children of Israel, who were about to go into the Promised Land. Which had the potential to take their focus off of the Holy God. Moses said, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."

David might have had Moses' words in mind when he wrote his own poetic line. If so, we can see the correlation. However, how does God's righteousness make affliction a faithful thing?

Even though David knew nothing about Paul, we might go to Paul's words in Romans 8 for the answer to this puzzling question. You know the verse. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

We may be tempted to spout this verse as "comfort" to a suffering soul, though we don't want anyone citing it when we are in that faithful affliction. In Romans 8 Paul is talking about "present suffering compared to future glory". He shares how each "thing" that happens in a believer's life is meant to be a good thing because it is part of an overall good work. God is working in each and every situation and circumstance for our good. Even when things are going terrible, God is at work for our good and his glory. Thus he is "faithful" when he "afflicts" us because that trouble has potential to polish us into a presentable diamond or mold us into a useful vessel.

So, how are you being afflicted right now? Is it painful? Is it seemingly endless? Know that you can trust God and his word, because he is working out something really special. It will be obvious in just a little while.

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