“If your law had not been my delight, I
would have perished in my affliction.” Psalm 119: 92 (ESV)
Summarize in a Word: Enduring Adversities
Key Principle: God’s Majesty is inscribed in His words.
Key Application: Meditate on the words of God
Main point of the Passage: All adversities look pale when we discover the
Majesty of God in His words.
Illustration: If you can enjoy World Cup Football, you can
enjoy God’s goodness too.
Exhortation: Would you treasure
God’s word in your heart, in your blood; not on paper, not on phone, not on
internet, but in your being?
We often have False View of God. Our view of God is revealed unprecedentedly when we are
in adversities. We like to think of God as one who satisfies our desires, who
will excuse all our sins by His grace. This is dead wrong if we don’t
understand His Majesty – the Majesty, which should make us tremble before Him
(Ps. 119: 120). God does not exist to serve you; rather you are created to
serve Him 24 x 7 eternally (v.91).
Do we like the Psalmist delight in God, or grumble? We
grumble and complain, and sin because we have a low view of God, and Esteem Ourselves Something of Importance. Are we? Has God no rights to send us to eternal hell
from day one of our lives? Is this not His extravagant grace that he lets us
live, and provides Salvation (v.41)? Do you expect football to complain, or
grumble, or retaliate when it is kicked? Not a perfect analogy, but suffice to
point that God is absolutely good and right to do whatever He wants with His creation.
Of course, God did not create us like a football to be
kicked by devils or by anyone. Rather the Scripture reveals that He is merciful
(v.58), good (v.65), and just (137). Moreover, God is a vindicator of the just
(v.74). His words can make us wiser than anybody (v.98). And His word is a
never failing, sure guide (v.105). Those are the Reasons why the Psalmist could Delight in God instead of committing suicide or being bitter or life.
How do we Endure Adversities? It is by delighting in God’s word, like the Psalmist. Delight
is an action, a practice we must do. It is not something we wait for, nor something
to be done for us. The psalmist meditates on it all day long, night and
midnight (v.98, 55, 62) because he trusts God to be faithful (v.86). Has there
been even a sleepless night of studying God’s word in your life? Would you obey
His words to realize His faithfulness, goodness, justice, and mercy? Would you
treasure God’s words in your heart, in your blood; not on paper, not on phone,
not on internet, but in your being? Surely, all adversities look pale when you
discover the Majesty of God in Scripture.