“Before I was afflicted I used to stray off, but now I keep your instructions.” Psalm 119:67 (NET)
I can see no better use of affliction than to drive the point home to our hearts that we must obey God.
To be honest, “obey” is not a word I particularly like, but as I’m finding out, it is the way back from misery. I am also discovering that, yes, it can be done. God would not ask us to do something that we simply cannot do. But ironically, the first act of obedience that gets us anywhere with God is to humble ourselves and admit that we are powerless to change ourselves. He will bring our misery to our attention and show us what a mess we’ve made, but it’s up to us if we will take ownership of the ship wreck or not.
If we do humble ourselves then the next act of obedience is to trust him. That is, we trust his promise to help us take each step we must take from then on until, at last — to our immeasurable joy — disobedience will become unthinkable.
