Psalm 25:18
18 Look [ra'ah] upon mine
affliction [`oniy] and my pain [`amal]; and forgive [nasa'] all my
sins [chatta'ah]. KJV-Interlinear
18 Look
upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins. NASB
Affliction, ‘oniry,’
means depression, misery, trouble, with the emphasis of one being looked down
upon as scum, as worthless, as nothing.
Pain, ‘amal,’ is the wearing
out effort of the burdens of life, labor, misery, sorrow, extended experience.
And so God is asked to
look at the human condition. Humanity is
nothing more or less than total depravity.
Regardless of your specific circumstances, whether you are very well to
do, or not so well to do, all of humanity is in the same boat of eternal condemnation
unless the cure for that condition is acquired.
And we know that the cure is faith in Christ.
Without faith in Christ
there is no salvation and no good eternal future. So without faith then the good life now is of
no effect when your life ends, and the bad life now would simply mean that you
have been a loser for all of your existence.
But, when there is faith,
and thus salvation, then you have a whole new set of rules, not the rules of
the world, that will run your life and future.
Therefore, God looks upon
you and sees your depravity, being human and all, and He likewise hears your
confession, which restores you to fellowship, regardless of your situation,
either good or bad.
The world promotes misery
or delusion from reality, and truth gives you an edge to skirt around both
misery and delusion.
Gods truth is the path to
happiness even in this miserable world.
Things or wealth are not happiness, but can be a distraction away from
an eternity of happiness.
Misery is a great teacher
and reminder of ones helplessness and dependence on God and on Gods grace, so
long as you do not become bitter or arrogant. So you still have to learn
doctrine.
Misery can keep your
focus on what is real and what is important.
God will not betray you. God will
not leave you behind, so long as you pursue your spiritual life as He has
defined it.
Do not look to your own
misery or guilt or excuses or failure or blame, because God does not. He forgives and also wipes out your
weaknesses giving you a clean slate day after day.
Instead focus on His
grace, on His plan, on His doctrine, and advance toward the positives of eternity
not on the positives of this world. In
reality this world which is not of God, has no positives. So how could you rely on or look toward something
that does not exist?
You can hustle through
life looking for all of the fairness's, all of the rights you believe that you
deserve, all of the equalities that you deem are your right, but you will never
find them. Remove one bad thing, and a
hundred more will take its place. This
is the devils world and he is a master of philosophical disguise.
There is only one place
of truth, of fairness, of equality, of opportunity, of happiness, of success,
and that is in doctrine.
Your time will come, but
not in this life, so prepare properly so you will be ready when it is your turn
to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive your final grades for
life.
Will you pass, or fail?
Pursue your daily bible
study and your passing grade and much, much more, is a certainty. Remain indifferent or of your own opinion and
your failure will be the final chapter of your life.
