Passage Read: Psalm 43-46
Meditation Verses: 43:1-3
Thought
Sometimes the righteous dwell among wicked people and that alone is cause for their suffering. The wicked hate the righteous and outnumber them, so they make life miserable for those who walk in God's ways. And God allows suffering so as to test and prove the faith of the righteous one. But it is also true that when the wicked rule and do so for long enough, even the righteous can lose track of all God calls righteous. The memory of the Lord and His ways become blurred, so the righteous do their best, but it falls short of God's desire. So the righteous may suffer discipline and cry to the Lord for greater light and guidance so as to learn the true ways of the Lord. Like David transporting the ark to Jerusalem.
Application
I'm blessed to have the Word of God and to be able to read it. But after centuries of thought leaders putting their own spin on the Scriptures, it can even be hard to believe and understand the Word of God in its simplicity and directness. It's not a problem with the Bible, but with my understanding that is tainted by all I've been taught. When what I've been taught is tainted by worldly, man-centered thinking, then I can misunderstand or fail to believe and obey what is plainly written. So I too cry out to the Lord for light and for guidance, let me see Your Word for what You meant and desire to teach, let me hear and obey the truth and break through the cloud of darkness cast by worldly thinking. When You discipline me, help me see where I'm wrong and need to change. Let me not remain blinded by this evil and depraved generation in which I dwell.