| “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.” |
| —Psalm 90:15 |
Sometimes it seems that troubles come one on top of another in waves too big to handle. In our agony, we cry for a break and long for days of quiet and peace again. On these kind of days, we pray the prayer that Moses wrote in Psalm 90.
God often answers this kind of prayer, although usually not in the ways we expect. Whether we have gone through persecution by the enemy, sickness, financial ruin, or loss, God has His marvelous ways of tipping the scales of blessing to overcome, or at least diminish, the pain we experience.
However, even if we never see relief from that which we suffer, we can be assured that, in the life to come, we shall rejoice in His goodness to us. Romans 8:18 tells us:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
I like to look through the stories of the Judges of the Old Testament. This book tells how the Israelite nation would turn from God and go their own way. God would allow this disobedient behavior to continue until His chosen people would cry out to Him for relief.
Often, we read of how they suffered oppression for a few years, but when God sent a judge to govern them, the land had peace for a much longer time. This happened over and over again, and represents to us the great mercy and grace of our God, who doesn’t extract the just penalty that our sins deserve. As David wrote in Psalm 103:10:
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
What a glorious God we serve. He knows our weaknesses. He allows us to suffer loss and pain. But, He also blesses us with His grace and favor—not in meager supply, but in abundance. Praise Him for His lavish love on us, and take heart from the words of Psalm 30:5:
His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
