Psalm 119:67 says “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”
Matthew Henry’s commentary expounded on it like this “Prosperity is the unhappy occasion of much iniquity; it makes people conceited of themselves, indulgent of the flesh, forgetful of God, in love with the world, and deaf to the reproofs of the word.” Matthew Henry is far deeper than Shari Johnson. I skimmed the “But Now” verse for today and thought…. “ahhh, he’s right with God.” I missed the part about being afflicted until I read it again; trying to unpack what it was the Lord would have me to understand.
Before I was afflicted…
You know, when all was right with your world. Before you lost yet another job, before you lost that friend, before you felt bad, before your family was hurting, before you were frustrated, before, before, and before again. Dear gussy! Why must it always be that way? Before we keep God’s word, our world is filled with awesome sauce. It’s only when those distresses, dangers and depression come into our lives that we read God’s word and think, “That’s a good idea.”
News flash! It was a good idea before the before. “But now… it’s an even better idea!” Because now we’ve come to realize that without God in the equation of our life we come up with the same answer. Wrong. It is God that makes everything right, even the wrong stuff. Over the 19 years of my salvation I’ve witnessed first hand
- God move financial mountains like they were ant hills
- Heal disease without treatment… and with treatment
- Answer the prayer for healing with “Not on this side,” and provide the peace beyond!
- Friendships broken beyond repair… and then mended
- Drunkards find new wine
- Dopers find the greatest high in life… salvation
- Prison in people with freedom, and freedom for people in prison
- Lives shattered and then pieced back together to become a beautiful mosaic.
- And so much more!!!
That’s how God works! But not by choice. He’d rather we get it right the first time. He’d have rather there would have been no sin in the garden, but now… there’s Satan. And he’s got to stir it all up and see if anything stinks and stink it does. Until we smell the sweet aroma of God’s presence in the room, when He shows up and we say… I think I’ll keep God’s word. It’s the only thing that has ever stayed trued and beyond a shadow of a doubt has kept me through it all.
It’s kept me:
- In hope when the world said there was none.
- In peace with the world was in chaos.
- Together when I was alone.
- Filled with joy, without reason.
- Complete, when so many things in my life were missing.
I am that mosaic. A beautiful piece of art fabricated out of all the brokenness and afflictions, and glued back together with His word. It’s such a privilege to have it.