Title: Making Suffering Beneficial
Contents
(Psalm 119:57-72) “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
Who among us loves suffering and rejoices in suffering? It is understandable that anyone dislikes and tries to avoid this suffering if possible.
But the psalmist says in verse 67, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word", and in verse 71, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted".
This psalm is a Bible woven into beautiful poems. So when I read the psalms, I don't say a few verses or verses. It is a bible that is woven with precious poems on the other hand to the extent that the word 'part' is used instead of 'chapter' for a few verses of Psalms. Most of this beautiful poem was written by an investigator named David.
David started from an ordinary family and was engaged in the family business of cattle ranching, when he became king by the prophet Samuel. David was a man who prayed for repentance so that his pillow got wet every night after being rebuked by the prophet Nathan for the sin he had committed against Uriah's wife Bathsheba.
Although he was a king with relatively few faults compared to other kings, he thoroughly repented before God and acted humbly before people. He learned to fear God in the midst of more pain and suffering than anyone else.
1. "I will obey Your law"
In verses 57-63 of the text, David confesses that he has only one wish in the midst of this suffering: to obey the law of the Lord.
David's current situation is that he is being chased by an incumbent king named Saul. The only reason he had to be kicked out was that he was chosen as the next king. But at times he was almost caught, and at other times he had the opportunity to get rid of Saul himself.
Nevertheless, he had such a belief that he could never defeat the king with his own hands, because he was a king established by God, and because he was the anointed king of Saul, who was anointed by God.
When we think about it, killing someone who is trying to kill you is self-defense. So it's okay to kill. But David refused to do so. The other party was a person of absolute faith that I would keep the law even if I did something illegal to him.
It was the strength of faith and determination that supported him that did not waver even in such an urgent situation where he felt his life threatened.
In verse 62 of the text, “I will rise in the night and give thanks to you,” and remembered your grace.
To wake up in the middle of the night means before dawn. It's a very painful time to get up. To that extent, he received many threats to his life, and he was thankful for God's grace in the midst of suffering.
We wish you to have this wish as well. Perhaps David's wish is insignificant for a wish. Still, he had this wonderful wish.
The principle of the Bible is not always for me, but 'if the Lord is for you'. “If the LORD is for you, if the LORD helps you, if the LORD supports you.”
There is nothing so foolish as to be only for yourself. However, most people seek only for themselves, for their own achievement and success. Even if others hurt me and the world turns away from me, I must not depart from your law.
Therefore, we hope that the subject of our prayers will be, like David, "According to Your law."
We pray that we will not only sing the praises of the great grace of the Lord that we have been through, but that we will strengthen our resolve by carefully remembering the grace that Sue has bestowed upon us.
2. "Teach me your law"
Verses 64-69 are “Teach me your law.” It is the determination to follow the law of the Lord, even if the enemy tries to kill him or if it causes harm.
In verse 65, David praises God. The content is that the Lord has kept His promise. I don't know what kind of promise that promise was, but in the end, it's all based on faith.
And in verse 67 it says that before the Lord punished them, they lived wrongly. But now I want to follow you. This is what he is talking about discipline with Bathsheba. This was the only flaw in his life. One mistake made life humbly, humbly, and undisturbed.
The word of God is not kept according to what the other person does to me. Even though he does iniquity, it is the duty of a believer to faithfully keep the law of the Lord.
Everyone! Your law is the written Word of God. The saints must obey the laws of the Lord. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said, "You are the light of the world and the salt."
Seawater is salty. Add about 1/4 of the salt. Because of that 1/4 of the salt water, seaweed, algae and fish are fresh in the sea. It does not rot. It doesn't hurt.
In our country, the number of church members is one per 4 members. It is 1/4 of the combined Old and New Testaments. Then, you said that you are the salt of the world, but a big change occurs because of 1/4 of the salt in the sea. There are 1/4 of the Christians in this country, so why is it rotting and rotting without change?
Changes are bound to happen as long as you obey your laws.
In the dark night, if you turn on only a 100-nib bulb, or, if you look at the old days, a 13-nib bulb, the darkness escapes. I sewed, read, and studied under a 13-nib lamp.
"You are the light of the world."
A quarter of our country is the church members who have become the light, but it is a bright light, but we should think about why the darkness continues like so much gloom. We try to avoid the hardships we face.
3. "It is good for me to be afflicted"
If you look at verses 70-72 of the main text, you have experienced suffering for good. James 1:12 says, 'Blessed is he who endures temptation. For after this has been approved, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 of the same content, the apostle Paul told Timothy that suffering caused by the Lord is a good fight, and after that there is a crown of righteousness and a reward. David's suffering is far more urgent than we think.
I slept in the fields, wandered in the mountains, and was really hungry. It was a continuation of a long-running life. Yet, in verse 70, he said that if there is nothing to worry about, there will be peace.
“Suffering is a lesson, experience is an income.”
That's right. Suffering is a valuable lesson, and experience is valuable income. Suffering is a phenomenon that appears to those who want to live according to God's will in a secret sense. If God is for me, if God helps me, if God is with me, please believe that no one in the world can harm me.
The hardships we go through while trying to do God's will never hurt us.
Right now it's a pain, it's like a stinging thorn, but over time it's going to be a great vaccine.
At a certain zoo, a deer gave birth to a young, and when they gave birth to a painless baby, they pretended to be the youngest and did not look back. There is no true maternal love without the pain of childbirth.
This week too, one of our church members gave birth and went to the hospital to worship, but it was so painful that I would never give birth again. I did.
Actually, it's hard. It's hard. But what else can be difficult like having a baby? Anyone who has never had a child or who has never had a child knows this. Often, mothers who have given birth to girls do not give birth, but do not give birth to them, yet they give birth to seven princesses because they say "just in case this time". However, I am more deeply attached to the child I gave birth to. Strange, but that's normal.
A faith that does not pass through suffering cannot be called a sanctified faith. God's work of creation also goes through suffering.
Comparing the world map north and south of the equator, there are many rich countries in the north. There are many poor countries near the equator.
Come to think of it, it's cold in the north. It is so cold here that when it snows, it snows and freezes to death. However, it is a very difficult place to live, but there are many rich countries. It is warm south of the equator. You don't need to put on clothes, and you don't freeze to death. They play, sleep, and eat berries when they are hungry. how comfortable But why can't
Let's look at the Olympics first.
Almost all countries that have hosted the Olympics have taken place in the upper equator, north of the equator. It's the Winter Olympics, but how about the Summer Olympics? Have you seen it done south of the equator? I didn't see it. It's just like playing the Asian Games.
what's the point of this? People living in the cold northern regions pile up grain in advance to store it in case it is too cold to go out to work. And it's about saving. It is to prepare. Be alert and work hard.
However, in the South, there is something to eat if you spread your hands, and you are lazy when you have something to work on. So poor. I can't live. There are many diseases. Proper suffering also benefits our bodies. Suffering for God is more important.
The author 'Talerang' said:
“Even landscapes hung at the end of the eaves make a sound only when the wind blows.”
In 1 Peter 2:19-20, Peter spoke of suffering as two types: unprofitable suffering and beneficial suffering. Suffering without anything to boast about or praise for is futile suffering. If you are beaten and suffer because of your own sins, no matter how much patience you endure, you have nothing to boast about. It is useless suffering.
However, for the sake of God's gospel mission and the gospel mission of Christ, when you suffer injustice, loss, and suffering, when you endure the cross of the Lord, believe that this is a precious and beneficial suffering.
You must know that 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ has suffering.”
Romans 5:3-4 says, “We rejoice in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope.” Acts 14:22 says, had to go through.
Everyone! Be afraid of tribulation and do not run away. Face it. Fight back. Then the suffering will not last long.
Revelation 2:10 second half, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
But in the first half of the verse, it says, 'Do not be afraid of the sufferings that I am about to suffer. see it The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days."
The word 'ten days' means that suffering is temporary. It's not long. Wait.
A characteristic of the devil is his inability to endure. The devil is the one who stops beating himself up after being overbearing. God has promised the crown of precious righteousness, the crown of life.
Distinguish between unprofitable suffering and good suffering, as Peter said. It is a misunderstanding if you think that the difficulties you are experiencing because of your mistakes are the cross that you suffer for the sake of the Lord.
Please believe that there is a great reward for the suffering you suffer in order to testify to the gospel of the Lord, which is clearly valuable and useful.
(1994. 3. 20)