Monday 7th
Psalm 119:50 (ESV)
‘This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.’
I love this short verse for it reminds us that the Word of God, the promises of God bring us comfort in our affliction. Now the word affliction could encompass several things, for it could cover anything that seems to come against us and cause us discomfort, distress, sorrow etc. It may be the loss of a job, it may be the loss of a loved one, it may be a personal struggle with health or depression, it could refer to a conflict we may be facing within a domestic situation, a work environment, or on another level, but as we seek God and read his Word through those circumstances it comes and gives us comfort, it reassures us that God is with us, that God is for us and that with our God we can do valiantly, we can overcome.
It would seem for this psalm writer that when he penned the words, he was going through a situation that had taken him to a low point, but he had become aware that as he took hold of the promises of God, they began to restore him, they gave him his life back, he was returning to his old self again, he was receiving comfort in his affliction that became a medicine to his soul.
The Word of God does bring comfort in our affliction, how many times can you recall going through a circumstance where you felt like you could go no further, or you felt like one more thing would be like the straw that would break the camel’s back and yet God has come to your rescue, his Word has quickened you, it has strengthened you and renewed you. It is because his Word is a living and powerful Word, it accomplishes all that God has sent it to accomplish, it is a Word that not only convicts us, but also convinces us, a Word that speaks right into the very depths of our inner beings, touching us even at the point which no one else knows about, it is a Word that brings life, brings strength, brings healing and brings wholeness.
In my own experience I can recall times when something has happened that has caused me to know what it is to suffer an affliction of some sort, and God’s Word has come, and it has come at exactly the right moment bringing life to my soul again. Perhaps as you are reading this devotion you are going through something that is afflicting you in some way, turn to his Word, allow God to speak into your life through his Word, allow it to become like a medicine to your soul. As you read it pray the prayer I mentioned a few devotions ago from this very psalm, ‘‘Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.’ Allow God to open your eyes to the wonder of his Word, so that it will bring you comfort in your affliction.