Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. [Psalm 25.16-18]
There is a lot we can learn from this portion of Psalm 25.
The main thing we need to see from this passage is that distress, problems, pain and trouble are all associated here with sin. Otherwise, David would not have followed this list of undesirable conditions with this: "Forgive all my sins."
Because we have so disassociated with God as a society over the centuries, many have concluded that distress, problems, pain and trouble are good things.
Although these things can trigger good outcome, they are not good in and of themselves. They are tools for one purpose - to bring about repentance.
Doctrines that embrace distress, problems, pain and trouble as "good" but fail to see that they are indications of sin are doctrines of pure deception. Verse 3 in this same Psalm 25 says, "No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others."
We deceive ourselves and others when we say we have not sinned.
How much worse is that deception when we deny that distress, problems, pain and trouble are obvious sin-indicators? How unfortunate is it to "receive" a parent's discipline without acknowledging our guilt that brought it on? Worse still is to "receive" that discipline as something "good" in and of itself! That kind of erroneous thinking is sadistic at its core! Twisted!
Bottom line: We need to repent and keep repenting. As long as distress, problems, pain and trouble exist, we need to repent!
Any response to distress, problems, pain and trouble other than repentance is pride.
The Church today has become entirely too infiltrated with worldly sadism. We call it big theological words, but nothing changes Deuteronomy 28's identification of obedience and its resulting conditions and sin and its resulting conditions.
The one place that should be declaring truth is instead declaring lies (not all, but the poison exists even in those churches that claim to be Full Gospel and the likes).
Plus, where are the miracles? The miracles are lost in a vast sea of spiritual ignorance.
The solution is one and the same as it has always been: repent.
Father, forgive me for buying in to the sick and twisted notion that You would want distress, problems, pain and trouble in my life for any other reason than to call me to repentance. And, furthermore, forgive me for not receiving the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 made mine through Jesus' obedience!
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