Psalm 119:143

Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight ~ Psalm 119:143


The psalmist is declaring that all has fallen apart in his world and life. How many of us find ourselves in this place? We are in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, which is increasing in infections no matter where you live, and what country you make as your home place. We are all suffering from covid fatigue, and some days are worse than others in how we deal with this affliction which has come upon us all. On top of covid, many people deal with other afflictions: cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, depression, and the list goes on. How we deal with our trouble and distress as Christ followers may lead us through a journey. We may fall into our own distress, we may question God and ask why? We may feel that our doubts outweigh our faith, but I think that usually our journey comes around the way a psalm eventually ends…in faith and hope in a God which has us and our life in control. We pour into the Book of God and we find His commands to love Him and others, to know that He has us in the palm of His hand, and that we are the clay as He is the potter as He molds us into a better “us” because “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Our trouble and distress could be the best thing that happens to us for cleansing, purification, and in building trust in the Lord’s provision. We do and will delight in the Lord’s commands for His word tells us that we cannot trust in our understanding, for he will show us the way forward (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

Pastor Julia

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