“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”
Psalm 119:71
The crocuses in my backyard are fragrant and beautiful, even for the dry, warm climate of Southern California. I don’t know how to account for such a profusion of flowers except to say that we had a couple weeks of hard frost back in January. I’m only an amateur gardener, but I’m convinced the freezing cold forced a lot of beauty out of my crocuses.
A theologian who also knew something about gardening once said, “The nipping frosts of trial and affliction are ofttimes needed if God’s trees are to grow. They need the cold to revive and bud.” What is true for crocuses is true for people.
It’s interesting to note that David, who wrote our psalm for today, was not a hardheaded sort who needed to be pushed into line. He was not the type who required a little affliction in his life to get him to appreciate God. Rather, the psalmist was a man after God’s own heart. But David’s afflictions were not intended to mold him into shape. They were God’s way of helping to create something beautiful in his life.
Do you feel the nipping frost of loneliness? Are you experiencing the biting cold of persecution? For you, it could be the icy sting of rejection or the numbing chill of heartache. Just as flower bulbs need the nipping frost to revive and blossom, hardships have a way of helping peace and joy blossom in your life. Patience can flower out of failure, and self-control or kindness can bud out of brokenness.
I’m grateful that You, heavenly Father, know exactly how much affliction to permit in my life in order that fruit of joy and peace may blossom. The biting cold hurts, but I look forward to the beauty that You will bring forth in my life.
