A Look at Psalm 119:67

Psalm 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.”
 

David is revealing something very important in this verse. It’s a revelation of how we develop obedience to God through tribulation. Jacob, a great example of this, began life as a supplanter and a deceiver. Jacob would trip people up. But one day, he came face to face with his God. 

In Genesis 32, we are told how he wrestled with an angel of the Lord all night long. By daybreak, he was a different man. As a result of this encounter with God, Jacob walked with a limp the rest of his life because the angel of the Lord touched his hip. Even his name was changed: he became known as Israel.
 

Before Jacob was afflicted he went astray, but now he obeyed. God touched him in the hip to constantly remind him of his need for Him. Jacob used to trip people up. If the hip socket is weak, one can hardly walk on it much less use it to trip others. God weakened Jacob so that His (God’s) strength could be perfected in him. That weakness would be his constant reminder of how much he was dependent upon God.
 

The story is told of a shepherd who had a little lamb that constantly strayed away from the herd into dangerous areas. In order to teach the lamb obedience, the shepherd broke one of its legs. The shepherd then carried the lamb around his neck until the leg healed. During the healing process, the lamb’s affection for the shepherd grew to a point that once it was able to walk on its own, it never strayed again. It may have walked with a limp, but it never strayed again. In this same way, our afflictions can actually serve as protection, keeping us from truly harmful things.   
 

Take some time to let this verse sink in. Consider your afflictions and thank God for His protecting hand upon you. 

Continued