I was just thinking and praying about how the Lord lets us go through so many problems. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" That's Psalm 34:19. And that's for the "righteous" - you can imagine how bad it must be for us sinners! Phew! Is it getting hot in here? Well, Okay, we are the "righteous" because we've received God's righteousness through Christ, through receiving His gift of salvation. So, yeah, the verse does apply to us. And, yeah, some of us do go through a lot of problems. Seriously I don't know why some seem to get more problems and afflictions than others, but I'm sure there's a special plan for each of us, specially tailored to work God's will in our lives.
Which brings us to the second part of that verse: "but the Lord delivers him out of them all." This is the exciting part. When afflictions and problems hit us we usually can only see the first part of the verse, especially the word "many" really hangs in there and bothers us. At least that's my usual reaction. But what we're supposed to be thinking about is the second part of the verse. And we're supposed to be thinking about three words in particular: "Lord", "delivers" and that very special word: "all".
The word "all" is so cool. Really think about it! That means everything, every single little thing, every major problem, every stinking difficulty, everything that afflicts you in some way. Of course, if you're like me, you're probably your own worst enemy, so, yeah, that can also mean delivering you from yourself. Ah... well... Sorry, I didn't mean to mess up the coolness of the word "all" - but, you know, it really would be nice to be delivered from our own sins. So, yeah, it's still cool! Actually, the more I think about it, that's even better!
However, I'm still missing something. I guess I'm missing the real point of that verse. It's the word "Lord" that really makes the difference. We can be delivered. We can be righteous. We can be saved and victorious. But for what? What is salvation anyway? It's being close to God! That's what it is. Not close to Him, like "Look at me! I'm standing next to God! I'm so great!" No, more like "Wow, God, You really do love me! In spite of myself! You're so cool!" That kind of closeness. That's salvation. That's heaven.
So when we get afflictions and problems we really should be looking to the Lord and getting closer to Him through them. Again, closer in love and thankfulness, not necessarily closer in goodness or our own righteousness. That won't really work.
That means that Christianity is like the most ultimate Spectator Sport ever!
We're supposed to be watching what God does in our lives! If we keep looking we will not be disappointed! King David said in Psalm 27, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He expected to see the Lord do something! He expected Him to come through for him with whatever it took to deliver him, to see the "goodness" of God.
"What about all those Christians in the arena during the Roman persecutions?! It was the Romans who were the spectators! Not the Christians!" Hold on, I've got an answer for that... "And do you mean we are not supposed to do anything about our Christianity?! We're supposed to just sit around waiting and watching?!"
No! I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. Let me explain. During those persecutions, what was the greatest event that happened for each and everyone that suffered? Was it that they suffered? That's what the Romans were watching. Or was it that God came and took them and brought them to heaven with great rewards? That's what only the Christians saw! They saw the Glory of God! They were the real spectators in that arena. They were the only ones who really saw the winning goal!
But they did need to be in the arena to see it. So it's more like an Interactive Spectator Sport! Sort of like Gaming on your favorite console, only better.
The second part of the verse, "but the Lord delivers him out of them all" doesn't really have any significance without the first part, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" - We need some battles, afflictions, challenges to be able to partake of this amazing spectator sport. Without them we'd miss the greatest show on earth (and in heaven).
Of course, it's more than just watching God do His work. It's being a part of His work, being close to Him, learning about Him, even becoming more like Him day by day. He's wants us to partake of this sport, not to show how great He is, but to show us how much He loves us. How great He thinks we are!
He also wants to share His kingdom with us. How can He do that? By letting us be a part of His work, by working through us in the lives of others, by being Him in this world. Being Him means letting His light and love flow through us. It's not that we become so great and mighty. If that were possible then people would be seeing us and not Him. It's actually a good thing we are such a mess. Then there's no confusion. Anything good we end up doing has to be God and not us.
So you got problems? Big problems? Be there. And watch.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14
