It looks like there’s a connection . . . a cause and effect . . . an “if you want this” then “don’t be surprised if you get this” sort of relationship. Sometimes you need to be careful what you ask for . . . but if you want it bad enough, then you need to be prepared to “endure the pain” in order to “achieve the gain.” As I’m reading Psalm 119:65-72 I think I’m seeing such a connection.

What I notice at first is a repeated request by the psalmist . . . “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments” (119:66) . . . “You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes” (119:68). So the songwriter desires to be a student. Because he trusts in God’s word, he says, “Teach me” . . . because He has come to taste something of the nature of God, that God is in essence the definition and source of good, he prays, “Teach me.” I get that.

Teach me, Lord. That’s what I want. But, to be honest, where I go first with that thought is the classroom. As I open God’s word on my desk in the morning, I want His Spirit to open my eyes. I want to read and I ask Him to reveal. I want to study and I trust Him to instruct. And that’s a great way to learn. But then I notice a different venue for learning . . . I notice “the connection.”

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes. 
                                                                                      (Psalm 119:71 ESV)

The NLT puts it this way, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your decrees” . . . Peterson in The Message offers this paraphrase, “My troubles turned out all for the best–they forced me to learn from Your textbook.”

Truth be told, I prefer the classroom . . . reality be known, often God’s word is best understood in the furnace. Something about trials that solidifies the trustworthiness of God’s promises . . . something about the crucible that reveals the goodness of God . . . something about being humbled as you’re reminded that you’re not in control that causes you to cleave to the One who is . . . something about tribulation which provides “teachable moments”.

Theory’s great . . . asking the Spirit to help you see the promises . . . and understand the precepts . . . and grasp the principles . . . all that, is needful. But I’m thinking that, at some point, the heart that really wants to be taught is going to have the theory brought to life with some testing. At some point circumstances will be such that the Word needs to become the way.

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.
                                                                                  (Psalm 119:67 ESV)

Really easy to be familiar with the “playbook” but still decide to “call audibles” according to my own wisdom . . . but something happens when the game gets out of control . . . something changes when my wisdom and my ways aren’t cutting it. It’s in those situations, when I need an anchor to hold onto . . . where I need something solid to stand upon . . . that I need ways and wisdom beyond my own . . . it’s in those situations, where I can learn the most concerning His truth. The promises come alive . . . the precepts ring true . . . the principles become a very practical GPS.

Yup . . . I think there’s a connection. Not that I’m looking for affliction . . . but I know that even in trials it is good for me . . . for in that “real-world classroom” He will reveal His word to me . . . that I might learn . . . that I might know . . . that I might walk in His ways . . and, ultimately, that He might receive the glory.

Amen?