Thank You for the Bitter Trials, They Work for My Good

Hezekiah's prayer after his recovery from imminent death is worth reflecting upon this Thanksgiving. Hezekiah thanked God for the bitter trial he suffered, and recognized that God had used it for his good. Sometimes we have plenty of prosperity and enjoyment to thank God for. At other times it seems we have only trouble, sorrow, and affliction. But we can thank God for these, as well, for they are His tools to make us in the image of His dear Son. The Son who suffered with us, and for us. 

I'll never forget the moment I recognized that my most bitter and vexing affliction - one which I had endured for several years in brokenhearted agony - was from God, for my good, and I thanked Him for it from my heart for the very first time. That day I thought the tears would never stop, but they were tears of inexplicable JOY! And I rested, finally, in His grace and sovereignty. At last, some words from Elisabeth Elliot that had previously lodged themselves in my heart became reality, something about acceptance being the way to peace. And I think Hezekiah would know very well what is meant by that.

Here is a portion of Hezekiah's grateful prayer . . .

Hezekiah's Prayer

Isaiah 38:15-20

What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,

and he himself has done it.

I walk slowly all my years

because of the bitterness of my soul.

[affliction comes from God, leading us to hear His voice, pause, and consider]

O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live!

[affliction can be life-giving, and God restores His beloved]

Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

for you have cast all my sins

behind your back.

[affliction works for our good, and God lovingly saves us from destruction and sin]

For Sheol does not thank you;

death does not praise you;

those who go down to the pit do not hope

for your faithfulness.

[gratitude, praise and hope are the good results of persevering under affliction]

The living, the living, he thanks you,

as I do this day;

the father makes known to the children

your faithfulness.

[giving thanks is a sign of life and a cross-generational language of faith]

The LORD will save me,

and we will play my music on stringed instruments

all the days of our lives,

at the house of the LORD.

[thanksgiving unites all gathered believers]

To augment this meditation, here is a great song of praise from Canadian singer/songwriter Steve Bell - stringed instruments and all. Have a wonderful, blessed, and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday!

Resting Quietly in God

Existence as a fallen creature in a fallen world has its way of pressing in upon us. We worry about this and fret about that. Many real dangers, actual hurts and immanent threats surround us. But we must rest in the sovereign hands of God.


Too often we look to other people and expect to find satisfaction, security and solace in their words. Many times we walk away from such exchanges having only stirred up more worries and doubts, and perhaps we've added a bit of strife for all our trouble. Occasionally, a person will lead us to the Lord and provide real benefit. Perhaps we weren't looking for God's input, so we depart from potentially helpful fellowship with a feeling of emptiness or defensiveness. Man's words cannot satisfy our hearts - only "that which proceeds from the mouth of God" can.

Sometimes I simply talk to God about my fears. When I cast my cares upon Him, looking not to the creature but to the Creator, I find a strange and almost unbelievable peace that "passes understanding." It's like a little piece (or "peace") of heaven has been deposited in my soul. All is hushed, and God alone is present. My worries get wrapped up in His overarching goodness. Such moments come in unexpected times and places, not usually in church or religious gatherings. In a quieter place, in a moment of silence, God speaks loudest.

This is not to say we don't need fellowship with other believers, but the things we learn in godly fellowship often lie dormant and unapplied until we get alone with God and hear Him reiterate what He said to us in a group setting. The saints play their essential role, but God alone causes the Word to bear fruit in us.

Are you resting in Him, or are you looking to creatures who are just as tied up in knots as you are? People who are just as sinful and broken, just as destructive, just as damaged, just as dangerous.

The things that people did to us were filtered through the loving hand of God, but we must not blame Him for what He allowed. He designed those disappointments for our benefit, and the benefit of those who cross our path. If we take our hurts to Him, His healing grace becomes the medicine we share with others. Such empathy is the vein of gold that runs though the raw ore of our sufferings.


In holding onto our hurt, we blame both God and man for what was done. We accuse them both and make them both our enemy. We fail to see that God has been working all our lives to redeem us from our own sin. We miss the ways He used the sins of others to draw us, that He might reconcile us to Himself and also to one another. In distrust of God, we cling to the ore and cheapen the gold. It's a shameful waste of perfectly good sufferings.

Only when we look to a sorrowful Savior in His passion, agonizing for ALL the sins of the world, can we get enough perspective to forgive others, trust God, and rest. Only when we see what our sin did to Him can we appreciate grace. Then we accept our troubles as gifts from God, and bring them trustingly back to Him. We find our transgressions forgiven and love inundating our hearts. In quiet moments of discourse with God we can find such wonders as these.