I have come across two statements in the last day that affirm the verses that I read from the Psalmist on Sunday morning. Affliction is good for the soul.
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.…
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. [Ps. 119:71, 75]
Charles Spurgeon wrote in another century:
The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the Lord lays it on us in our youth, it frequently develops a character which glorifies God and blesses the church.
Come, my soul, bow thy neck; take up they cross. It was good for thee when young; it will not harm thee now. For Jesus’ sake, shoulder it carefully. [HT: Tyler Kenney]
Similarly, Lance Quinn (.pdf notes) said that the Lord sometimes allows (designs) competing ideas to His truth to reveal
that God will ultimately glorify Himself even if in the meantime He is allowing what appear to be temporary challenges to His sovereignty and supremacy.
Words of Grace 