The Power of the Word
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. Psalm 119:67
Psalm 107:17, “Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted.” and Psalm 119:67 above paint a picture that iniquities, or sin, cause afflictions. This sometimes is misconstrued by Psalm 34:19 which says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” This verse does not say that righteousness brings forth the afflictions. A great example in the Bible is Abraham. You can read in Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, and James 2:21 where Abraham was called righteous. However, he obviously faced affliction. If you look into what caused his affliction, you will find that it was disobedience/iniquities/sin. Abraham fled to Egypt when the Lord told him to stay in Canaan (Genesis 12). If you read on in Genesis 16, you will find that Hagar was Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant. Hagar most likely would not have been with Abraham if He had trusted God through the famine in Canaan and not gone to Egypt. Then Abraham slept with Hagar which brought forth Ishmael (Genesis 16). He also lied about his wife which brought plagues to the Pharaoh and his household and caused King Abimelech’s household to be barren (Genesis 12 & 20).
Circling back to Psalm 119:67, keep God’s Word and you can be confident that the Lord will protect you from the traps of the enemy (Proverbs 3:26) To keep God’s Word, you must know God’s Word. And knowing God’s Word, means you know God (John 1:1). Hosea 14:9b says, “For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble and fall in them.” This is confirmed with Psalm 103:7 that says, “God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The children of Israel did not walk in His ways, because they transgressed the Word. Therefore, they stumbled and fell. Choose to obey God’s Word. Then He will reveal Himself to you so you can walk in His ways (John 14:21).
