Psalm 73: 15-17 (NIV-UK)
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
Psalm 73: 21 -24 (NIV-UK)
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances that we don’t understand and can’t easily explain. David certainly did, and on more than one occasion. We read that he tried to rationalise it, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t, and it troubled him deeply. He also realised that when he allowed himself to dwell on it and become bitter, it was no use to him, and his behaviour deteriorated as a result. Yet when he came into God’s sanctuary and allowed God to guide him through, he understood that he could leave matters in God’s hands, and that was enough.
That’s an important lesson for us to learn. We cannot easily understand everything that may happen to us, or to anyone else, so we must be careful not to offer explanations to people that may not be helpful to them. The best thing to do is to remember these verses, and hold on to the fact that whatever we are going through God is with us in it and is holding our hand. We must be careful not to become bitter and to be open to what God has to say to us, whist remembering that we will in the fulness of time be with God in Glory when everything will become clear.
Dear Lord,
Help me to remember the words in these verses when I find myself or others in situations I can’t understand. Thank You for the assurance that You are always with me, holding my hand, bringing me through. AMEN.