Psalm 66:10-12
For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou hast broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
Everything grueling has an end game, right? Think about the countless hours a volleyball or basketball player spends in practice going through drill after drill. Think about the person working out in a weight room, rep after rep of being under weights. Think about the person going on a food diet! Instead of cheetos, its carrot sticks. Think about a runner training to run a marathon. The early morning runs get long and cold as winter sets in. What is the end game? The sports player excels in their abilities and that shows in games. The workouts prove to bring the person to a stronger, healthier life. The diet helps shed off some unwanted weight. The marathon runner completes the race.
What about trials? You may be going through something pretty heavy right now. And the only difference between your trial and the sports player, the workouts, the diet and the marathon runner, is that you didn’t choose your trial! You may even resonate with the psalmist and feel like you have been run over, or gone through fire and water! No one chooses a trial, and the reality is, we will end up having them!
One temptation that we may have during our trial is that we blame God.
“God, why did you do this to me!”
I know the feeling. But what is the truth about that statement? Did God delight in doing that to you? Or was it that in this broken world, He allowed it to happen to you? The psalmist did the same thing. He said God, YOU proved us. YOU tried us. YOU brought us. YOU laid affliction on us.
The problem with our accusations is that we stop there. “God this is YOUR fault!” We get frustrated with God in our trial. And before we justify our frustration with God with how the psalmist talked, I want you to see the psalmist's real heart.
While the psalmist admits that God allowed these things into his life, he also admitted that the same God that allowed the trial, allowed there to be a prosperous ending: YOU brought us into a wealthy place.
The psalmist’s knew that while God allowed these difficulties into his life, His God wasn’t a cruel God that delighted in hurting him, but a gracious God for allowing there to be a good ending.
Did you know that the end game to your trial is found in Romans 8:28? The end game is good for those that love God!
While God, in His sovereignty, allowed the trial you are walking through, God also, in His grace, will allow good through it.
Struggling with something heavy in your life today? Go to the God that will cause there to be good and rest in His sovereign love!
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