The Goodness of a Trial By God by Brother Duke Hansen

         Good morning. If you will, please turn to the book of Psalms. We are going to read some of Psalm 107, and start at verse 1. This psalm is a praise to God. I hope that you see David's point of view in this song.

        O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: his mercy endureth forever.

        2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

        Man has passed deceit among himself for generations going back to the garden of Eden. The deceit most people use is on the themselves. If you don't have the Holy Ghost leading and living within you, you won't catch what you're being deceived to in life. You can allow the things around you, situations to blind you, dilute the truth, and you revel in your own misunderstandings. The real challenge is in controlling your flesh and keeping your emotions in check when life seems to be going bad.

        3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

        4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

        5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

        Look at verse 5. The phrase hungry and thirsty is not a mere reference to food and drink. It is regarding spiritual meat. Trouble comes when spiritual advice is given but you ignore it for worldly pleasures. You can't proclaim being righteous when you want to run with the unrighteous.

        6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses .

        God put the people in stress because the people had put God on edge in their disobedience to him.

        7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

        If God is pressing on you, placed you in a bind, and you aren't crying out to him for help, you will remain in your snare.

        The people who continually shop around church denominations until they hear what they want to hear, or what appeals to their carnal sinful self, they are what the Bible refers to as, "itching ears".

        8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

        9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and fileth the hungry soul with goodness.

        If you are justifying your spiritual walk with God by what you are accomplishing here in the world, you are doing the relationship wrong. If you won't beat your flesh up, God will. He will allow situations to happen to bring your flesh into subjection.

        10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

        11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most high;

        God feeds those who are spiritually hungry for him.

        12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.

        God will bring your heart down with labor. David testified to God putting him to trials because he lived it. Working through it does not work. The Israelites had their heart weighed with labor for over 400 years in captivity to the Egyptians, and when they were freed by God the Israelites were proud and stubborn. The labor through trials carries still today but promoted as "self made" "I did this, I did that". In elevating your flesh instead of God, you bring pride to the front. You will have that prideful mindset and think you are chosen and blessed.

        13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

        14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

        Note the psalm say he brought and brake and not you. He brought them out. He broke their bands. David understood that when he messed up. God was still his best friend. We are so scared of failure, we will sink into depths of negativity when we are leveled low.

        If God changes your landscape, you have to notice and follow him. Before you saw the fruit of the spirit, you feel the turn in your spirit. There are people not truly born again spiritually or a mere baby out here trying to do grown stuff. It's a truth that your flesh doesn't want you to hear, There are truths you can't change, and your flesh puts you on a cycle of repeated sins and mistakes.

        15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.

        16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

        As you really grow in the spirit you can tell the difference of things being just life or being afflicted.

        17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted

        18 Their soul abhorrheth all manner of meat, and they draw near unto the gates of death.

        You have to have some grit and not lay down because you don't know how far God will take you past caring. When God raises you back up, you may not know the gravity of what God did. There are things God has done for you in your life that you shouldn't forget.

        19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he save them out of their distresses.

        20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

        There are a lot of us going through stuff, crying out to God to heal us from it and haven't heard from God. This doesn't mean for you to stop praying. Every answer for every affliction in your life is in the scripture. It doesn't matter how bad or how good it is, everyone is going through a struggle. The flesh is always out to destroy and tear down. If a scripture doesn't prick your heart at times, your flesh is in control of your life. That prick, move of the spirit is when God is working on you as a new creation. The more you learn about yourself, you correct. God is not out to discourage you, but to show you who he really is. The things which have a grip on you won't have a hold on you when you are chasing after him. David mentions the goodness of God more than once in this psalm. Some of you can be born again and carry some iniquity. Hoisting on your back worldly traits which could keep you from entering heaven. You aren't a light to others when you are still being born. You're barely noticeable, a flicker. Your life has to reflect God to shine brighter.