Introduction
We may have been reading an article, or bible passage for days, weeks months and or years and it will not have meanings to us, but a day that the passage has meaning to us, we leave the stage of mediocre on that passage.
This is true of some other things that we read too, a quote, a proverb may have been repeated by us severally we may have been reading it severally but it may have no meaning to us except that we are just re-echoing the words, what people are saying about the quotation or proverb, but when the quote jumps at us, and start having meaning, then, we view it deeper than how others have been viewing it and or using the quote or proverb.
As we know that majority of the written words of the bible if not all were put down after the incident had happened, I will want us to see what a man arrives at after passing through affliction in the holy writ, as contained in the book of Psalms 119 verse 71 which states that,
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Psa 119:71)
Initially
It worth stating that human nature does not differ, as those who had lived during the first world was behaving and acting after the fall of man from the garden of Eden, that is how the people were behaving after the flood. And this continues unabated till date because humans are the same. We all have blood running through our venous and arterial circulations.
As there have been good people then, there are good people now, as there had been religious people then, there are religious people now.
It is sad however, to discover that some people from some continents of the world considering themselves superior to others from other continents of the world. Before God there is nothing like that, for we all are equal before him.
Though, as being equal before him, he could bless some people and not bless some other people, he would give some people wisdom and intelligent while he would deny some people that. In the meanwhile those who he has denied that, that does not mean that those people too are completely useless because in some other areas they will also be useful whole those specially designed people would also be useless.
Therefore, we have been created to be one another’s keeper, we have been created to be each other’s helper.
Like it was happening in the ancient times that people were falling into different problems and afflictions it is also happening now, what differs however is the kind of afflictions we are fallen into, because each dispensation and individual people have different things that they value.
The man who wrote this book being a man, and who has fallen into troubles and trials wonders when he fell into such things, for he was surprised that he could fall into such position because of his interactions and deep involvement with his maker, Yahweh.
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Psa 119:71)
“It is good” that this writer says here points to the fact that he has questioned the rationale of God allowing troubles to come along his path when it happened to him.
We like him today also questions some things when they befall us, we wonder why such things could happen to us. But as we are ignorant at the initial of the development, like this man, we shall equally learn and appreciate that with time. Let us see how from this verse.
Getting To understand
During the process of passing through the affliction he started reasoning, knowing why he was passing through those things and the followings he was able to arrive at during those periods.
1. Man is Unreliable: It was because he was passing through this phase that he was able to know that man like leaves on the trees are not totally to be relied upon.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9)
2. Man Cannot Be Trusted: He abinitio has trusted man completely and believes that whatsoever anyone says he would stand by, but during this period, he started to notice the nature of man and knows that man cannot be completely trusted.
“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” (Isa 2:22)
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” (Jer 17:5)
He knows that man cannot and should not be wholly trusted because he appears in the morning and disappears at noon, we are like flowers that do not last long.
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (Jas 4:14)
“Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
“In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.” (Psa 90:5-6)
Some people ordinarily are not out to disappoint or renege on their promises, but circumstances and condition may force that to happen, and above all, they may even die and then what they have promised they would not be able to fulfill.
From these experiences he knows that man cannot be trusted.
In the next article I shall continue with how the man gets understanding and knows that what he passed through was better for his wellbeing.
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