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- Oct 26, 2007
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Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, [Yet] Your commandments [are] my delights. Psalm 119:143
New Christians, or those still working to become more mature in their faith, are sometimes shocked that the Christian life isn’t free of trouble and stress. Some of them can even become disillusioned when they realize that many facets of their new life are like their old one in that they face a lot of the same problems they did before they were saved.
The plain biblical truth is that God never promised you an easy or trouble-free life. In fact, many scriptures promise you exactly the opposite. Take these words straight from the mouth of Jesus: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).
If life here on earth hasn’t already affirmed that truth for you, take a closer look at today’s verse. Notice that the psalmist doesn’t thank God for keeping his life free of trouble and stress. Instead, he freely acknowledges that he’s going through a rough time and that the troubles he’s enduring are affecting him internally.
But this same psalmist ends his declaration that he’s going through some difficulties with these words of hope: “Your commands give me delight.” He had learned an important life lesson, namely that God didn’t always keep his life free of problems but was always there for him, even in the most difficult of times.
New Christians, or those still working to become more mature in their faith, are sometimes shocked that the Christian life isn’t free of trouble and stress. Some of them can even become disillusioned when they realize that many facets of their new life are like their old one in that they face a lot of the same problems they did before they were saved.
The plain biblical truth is that God never promised you an easy or trouble-free life. In fact, many scriptures promise you exactly the opposite. Take these words straight from the mouth of Jesus: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).
If life here on earth hasn’t already affirmed that truth for you, take a closer look at today’s verse. Notice that the psalmist doesn’t thank God for keeping his life free of trouble and stress. Instead, he freely acknowledges that he’s going through a rough time and that the troubles he’s enduring are affecting him internally.
But this same psalmist ends his declaration that he’s going through some difficulties with these words of hope: “Your commands give me delight.” He had learned an important life lesson, namely that God didn’t always keep his life free of problems but was always there for him, even in the most difficult of times.
