"It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
The law from your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold."
Psalm 119:71-72
"I can't even begin to try to understand why He saw it fit to allow me to be afflicted with this aggressive, unpredictable breast cancer. I can't explain why I've chosen traditional medicine to a natural approach. I know that God's hand has been guiding me. I know that there is a testimony in the works. I know that God is able to heal me. . . God has impressed me to share this here. I pray that whatever anyone who reads this is going through, they will find encouragement. God has not forsaken me and He hasn't forsaken you! He is about to show out! Stay tuned. -feeling encouraged."
This is a post from a friend who is going through the unthinkable, every human's darkest nightmare. She is facing the worst, yet she calls it a privilege to undergo such torture. Even though she suffers so, she has hope and is thinking of how to use her experience to lift up the faith of others.
As I read this precious sister's testimony, I realize that I often have it backwards. I treasure success, the high regard of many, meaningful experiences, even all the comforts of good health and home. But none of it really matters. It's all empty and beside the point of my purpose, as my friend has discovered.
I need God to show me what is truly valuable and of greater worth than gold.
Affliction. I do whatever I can to avoid it. I make every effort to keep myself healthy, to circumvent trouble, to sidestep suffering. How can I complete the ministries God has placed before me if I'm sick? If I'm under attack by my enemy, how will I serve effectively? Don't I need to be healthy and whole in order to do my best for God? So goes my line of thinking. And so I spend much time in self-preservation.
But God has a different plan. He desires that I am true to Him and His Word. His plan includes teaching me obedience through suffering (Psalm 119:67, Hebrews 5:8). He knows how quickly I stray toward my own way, and only He knows what it will take to teach me loyalty to Him. And so He allows this hard thing into my life.
God shows me the value of obedience to His Word by taking me through times of affliction.
Persecution. It's hard to be the object of malicious gossip, of lies spread for no other reason than to hurt me and damage my reputation. When going through such times I search for the reason for such ill-treatment, but I can find none. I wonder why I must hurt so.
Then God does a remarkable work on my heart. He uses such pain and disgrace to develop a new appreciation for His instructions. I begin to pay attention to the truth of His Word, to drink it in like a life-giving elixir, to cherish His provision of daily Bread found in the pages of scripture as the stuff of life itself. His Word becomes precious to me and I heed every warning, savor every morsel of understanding, look forward to each nugget of insight.
God shows me the value of the truth of His Word by allowing me to be the target of persecution.
Conclusion. At first I see other things as more valuable. I seek earthly prosperity thinking that will give me satisfaction. I buy into the belief that the love of man will send me into a state of bliss. I trust the fallacy of security that comes from building up my bank account and surrounding myself with all the trappings of a successful life. Then God gets a hold of me.
As He takes me through His training program, weathering affliction and persecution, I come to a new conclusion. I discover that sitting at His feet as His well-loved child is the best place I could be. I determine that His instruction is worth more than all the riches I could ever acquire. I deem His Word as my most valuable possession.
God guides me to conclude that His Word is the greatest treasure that could ever be acquired.
My friend is facing the worst of the worst, but her value system is changing as she goes through it. I am inspired greatly to see affliction as a teaching tool in my Father's hands, and persecution as nothing more than an object of His training. As I weather the storms of life, I will conclude that even a morsel of His Word is better than possessing all the gold in the world.
As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God with the hard times of my life, knowing He has a great plan.
When do I despise the suffering I now face, refusing to see how God is using it to alter my perspective and value system?
How am I failing to comprehend the purpose behind the suffering?
