The next three stanzas of Psalm 119, found in verses 65-88, deal with suffering and affliction and persecution. And yet, this first section is perhaps one of the most comforting passages in all of Scripture. Take a look at these verses in Psalm 119:65-68:

In this world there is a lot of pain and suffering. It’s a consequence of the Fall, and we cannot escape it. That has led many to question why, and even further, to question why God would allow such suffering, and even questioning whether or not God exists. While those are legitimate questions, they fail to account for the totality of what Scripture teaches. There is a purpose to suffering, as difficult as it may be.

There are several reasons why suffering exists. This is a deep and probing questions, and not one that can be answered adequately in a few brief words here. First, as mentioned, it is a result of sin and the Fall. It simply happens. We live in a broken world, and it will not be fixed until that day when Jesus returns and it is created anew.

Second, suffering can be instructive. We can learn more about ourselves and how we are to grow in our character and Christlikeness. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul tells us that “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” We can rest assured that we can grow through such times.

Third, there is suffering where the only purpose may be to bring God glory through it. In John 9, the man born blind suffered in this way for the purpose of revealing the glory of God when he was healed. We long to attribute such suffering to sin, or something we have done wrong, but Jesus clearly denied that idea in this case.

In the previous verses, the psalmist has been seeking God’s presence in his life, so that he may understand and know God as fully as he can. He listed three ways to do this. In the remainder of this stanza, he lists three more ways. Take a look at these verses in Psalm 119:61-64:

In the four verses that began this stanza, the psalmist showed three ways that he had discovered to help him understand God better, and he found these, and God himself, by searching the Word of God. He committed to seek God face (verse 58), follow God’s statutes (verse 59), and obey God’s commands (verse 60).

These three things, and the additional three we will see in this passage, show us how we can get to know the author of Scripture in a very close and personal way. After all, this is what the psalmist is pursuing, and it is what we should be pursuing as well. I stated this before, and it is worth repeating: The main purpose for a careful study of God’s Word is to get to know God himself. One can know everything there is to know about God and about his Word, but if he does not know God himself, he has missed the point. Scripture was given to us so that we can know its author, the author of life itself, as intimately as we can.

As the psalmist is seeking his portion, his “share” of God, he has realized that nothing short of God himself will suffice. What he wants from God… is God. And the place to which he turns to find God is Scripture. In the remainder of this stanza, he shares three more ways that he seeks and pursues the Father. This is what we ought to do as well.