Deep truths from trials

Isaiah 38:17
Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

This is Hezekiah's prayer and song of praise after his brush with deathly illness. In it, Hezekiah identifies some deep truths about our world, our condition and our God. First, suffering is a part of life and a part that brings life. We cannot know the benefit of peace unless we know the bitterness of war. Second, we are at war with God, enemies separated by our sin and deserving death (Rom. 5:10). Finally, it was only God's love that compelled Him to deliver Hezekiah's soul from the grave and restore him to the land of the living. It is His love that causes Him to cast our sins behind him and patiently wait for our repentance and return. It is His love that sent Him to the cross to not simply ignore our sin for a season but pay for it for eternity. It was His love that caused Him to take up our infirmities and pay for our iniquities. By His wounds we are truly healed (Isaiah 53:3-5).

It was Hezekiah's physical illness that led him to understand his spiritual illness and to recognize the love and grace of God. What do the trials of my life lead to? Do I allow trials to reduce me to depression or increase my faith? Do I accept the fleeting realities of this world or do I persist to the spiritual truths beyond it? Do I pity myself or praise Him?

Lord, keep my eyes open in trials to see You and Your truth. Amen.