Psalm 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn your statutes.
The Seed Basket study of Psalm 119 goes on. We will discuss a challenging topic from this group of 8 verses.
Affliction.
Please click the highlighted sections. It’s so important to understand context.
Believers today have diminished faith in God to an easy Gospel. They have accepted a lie that God wants every one of us to live in prosperity and health.
But God knows that is the wrong way to think. His love exceeds that.
God does bless some believers with prosperity and health. But with those blessings come a burden.
The burden is to be sure to commit those blessings to God and not misuse them selfishly or pridefully.
Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble. He also pointed out that families would be at odds with one another. From scripture we read that Satan has come to kill, steal and destroy. We read in 1 Peter that our brothers and sisters all over the world are suffering, and we will, too.
Nowhere in scripture have we read the phrase, “Name it and claim it.”
The abundance spoken of in scripture is talking about the abundant life of peace and joy because of grace.
Don’t you see the difference between grace and the false prosperity gospel?
Grace is salvation. God’s riches at Christ’s expense.
Some people believe that those who suffer are sinners getting what they deserve.
The Gospel teaches that no one gets what they truly deserve. Jesus took what we deserve.
Believers often face affliction for various reasons. This Psalm highlights that when God allows suffering due to sin, it serves a purpose.
The Psalmist acknowledges that without such struggles, he would stray from holiness and rebel against God.
He knows that affliction has taught him more about God’s law. It has saved him spiritually. In many cases, it has saved him from more serious troubles in life.
Peace. Perfect peace. In this dark world of sin. The peace of Jesus whispers, “Peace.”, within.
Here is a link (gotquestions.org/affliction) that will show you many of the reasons why we suffer affliction. Take a look. It’s not just because of moral failures among believers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
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Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 