Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me! (Psalm 66:20)
It is quite natural, and should be quite easy, to bless God when He responds favorably to our petitions and our needs. Most anyone would be quick to express their gratitude to another person who had helped them in a time of crisis; certainly we would do that, and more, when God delivers us from a difficult situation. But how about when He allows us to go through the difficult situation? Or what about when He says “No” in regard to our petition? Do we find just as easy to bless Him in those situations? If we’re honest with ourselves, most would find it difficult to do.
Solomon said, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14). It is my view that when God allows adversity to touch our lives, it is always with the intent of improving our lives in the long term. In other words, when He subjects His people to afflictions, it isn’t necessarily meant as a punishment or to atone for past sins; sometimes, the suffering is intended to promote spiritual increase in our lives. When speaking of this concept, I can’t help but think of Jacob, a man who was subjected to false accusation, abuse and all around mistreatment at the hands of his father-in-law, Laban. Yet in spite of the suffering, he held fast to his integrity and His commitment to the Almighty. In the end, God vindicated him and blessed Him for his faithfulness.
In another psalm, David declared, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). It would seem that David was committed to blessing the Lord when things were good and when life was difficult. If anyone was familiar with suffering, David certainly was. Yet we see throughout the psalms that he was steadfast in his determination to praise God in every circumstance. We also see that his faithfulness in this regard did not go unrewarded — God protected him, provided for him and promoted him above those who sought his destruction. Therefore, let us determine within ourselves that is good to bless the Lord even when things seem to be bad. His mercy will never fail us and, in His time, He will deliver us from our afflictions!
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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