“As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in Your commands.”-Psalm 119:143
In this life we can count on a variety of troubles and trials. Here’s how Charles Spurgeon once put it: “Good people must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them.” At this point, you may be thinking, “Oh, great! Thanks for the encouragement, Scott. Thanks for being so uplifting!” Listen, don’t stop reading or listening just yet. I'm really not “Dennis the downer.” This is just a truth that’s really important to remember so that we aren’t taken off guard when struggles come...because they will come. Jesus was super clear about this. See John 16:33.
We are not promised a life of ease. Truthfully, we can actually expect there to be times when things are just flat out difficult, when trials seem overwhelming, when pressure and stress feel like they are closing in or even overtaking our lives. Have you been there? Many of us have, or are currently walking in it, or certainly will experience this at one time or another. But, check it — God offers us His joy right in the thick of the pressures and stresses that threaten to undo us and leave us hopeless! How can this be? Where would we find such joy?
Let’s be reminded again of Psalm 119:143 which says: “As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in Your commands.” The psalmist had obviously been through hardship. Trouble and distress had overtaken him. However, the psalmist found joy in the middle of it. He found delight even during the trying time. Where was that joy found? The joy was found in God and His ways. Directly in the midst of the “storm”, the psalmist looked to God, to His word, to His commands. Who God is and what He says ultimately leads to the joy we need. No wonder Jesus passed on to the disciples, and all of us to come, these words in John 15:11: “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
May God help us learn from what the psalmist did even in the midst of the struggles of life that had come his way. He looked to God and His ways. So may we. Whatever it takes, let’s stay in the Bible each day! He wants us to keep hearing, and we need to keep hearing, His truth that sets us free. His ways are right. His guidance is ever good. In God and His commands, we find true joy! Even when pressure and stress bear down on us.
Godspeed, friends!
-Scott