When trouble and anguish have come upon me
[Psalms 119:137-144]
What should we do when trouble and anguish have come upon us?
In Psalms 119:143, the psalmist confessed: “Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight.” What did the psalmist do when trouble and anguish had come upon him that the Lord’s commandments were his delight? I want to think about in three ways and apply them to our lives. Therefore, I hope and pray that we, like the psalmist, will be able to take the commandments of the Lord as our delights in the midst of trouble and anguish.
First, when trouble and anguish have come upon us, we must be upright.
Look at Psalms 119:137 – “Righteous are You, O LORD, And upright are Your judgments.” In trouble and anguish, it is easier for us to lie than to be honest. The reason is because we may think that if we lie we can get out of our trouble and anguish at that moment. However, like the psalmist, we must make upright judgments when there is trouble and anguish. Our judgment should never be blurred. In order to do that, we must have our own character overlaid with the righteousness of the Lord. Uprightness must emerge from the Lord’s righteousness. The Lord's law is truth (v. 142). We must be personified by this word of truth and live an honest and upright life. Never should we fall into false temptations and give up our honesty and uprightness.
Second, when trouble and anguish have come upon us, we must be faithful.
Look at Psalms 119:138 – “You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And exceeding faithfulness.” It may not be easy to be honest in trouble and anguish, but being faithful may not be easier. This is because, in trouble and anguish, faithfulness requires patience or endurance. However, the psalmist was faithful. Even though he was in trouble and anguish because of his enemies (v. 139), the psalmist was faithful to the words of the Lord. He didn’t forget the Lord’s words of the Lord (v. 139). The reason he was able to be so faithful to His words was because he tasted “exceeding faithfulness” of His words (v. 138). In other words, since the psalmist not only knew God's faithfulness through the word of God, but was actually tasting God's faithfulness in his own life, he firmly trusted in God's faithfulness amidst the trouble and anguish of his life were allowed by God in His faithfulness. Like the psalmist, we must firmly trust in the Lord’s faithfulness. In particular, we must do so more and more in trouble and anguish.
Third and last, when trouble and anguish have come upon us, we must love the word of God.
Look at Psalms 119:140 – “Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it.” We must love the very pure word of God. Why should we love the very pure words of God? The reason is because through trouble and anguish of life, we are refined by the very pure words of God, as if by melting gold in a furnace to produce pure gold. What a wonderful power of the word of God that refines our faith, our heart and our character in trouble and anguish. Therefore, we, like the psalmist, have no choice but to take the commandments of the Lord as our delight even in the midst of trouble and anguish.
We must be upright in trouble and anguish that come in our lives. And we must faithfully follow the righteous and faithful word of the Lord. And we must love the Lord's words, which are very pure. Then we can live (v. 144).
Wanting to make the word of God more and more for my delight when there is trouble and anguish,
James Kim
(In pursuit of uprightness, faithfulness, and love)