Do you have anything that you consider precious? Most people have something in their home or life that they consider invaluable, priceless, and irreplaceable. These items, and often people, are very important to them. We call them precious. Does God have anything that is precious to Him? In our psalm for this week we read about something that God’s Word, the Bible, says is precious to the Lord.
Psalm 116 is another one of the psalms where we do not know who the author was. Some people like to call them the “orphan” psalms. Whoever the author was, it was quite possible that he had recently recovered from a terrible illness, one where he almost died. Perhaps he had a terrible accident, or was in some very dire situation. Whatever the specifics were with the author, he clearly stated that it brought him to the brink of death (vs. 3, 8).
As a believer who loved and trusted in Yahweh, our psalmist cried out to the Lord in prayer for deliverance or for healing. In the past he had called upon God for help, and had received an answer to his prayer, so he knew from experience that God is a prayer-answering God. God is responsive, and we can always reach Him. He is near, listening carefully to every prayer, and answering each prayer with His best for us.
God did hear the psalmist’s prayers for help, and brought him the healing or aid he needed. Reminding ourselves of God’s kindness and faithfulness in the past is a practical comfort and help to us in the present. Reminding ourselves about God’s goodness can keep us filled with His peace.
What about, though, those times when we pray for either ourselves or others, and we don’t get the healing or deliverance we ask for? What about when we pray for a loved one for their healing, desperately pray, and yet they die? Or we pray for deliverance from a terrible situation a loved one is in, maybe even for a missionary who is being terribly persecuted for the Faith, and things go from bad to worse? Doesn’t God care about them? Why would He let your beloved parent, or other relative or friend die? They were such good and faithful Christians! Why didn’t the Lord bring deliverance and help to that missionary who was being persecuted, perhaps even tortured?
Often God does not give us an answer why one prayer for healing is answered, and another one isn’t, but that never means that He doesn’t love or care for that person, or that the person is being punished for some sin. Deep within our psalm today God reveals a truth to us that we can hold on to, and that is that when a believer dies, whether it is from illness, accident, martyrdom, or just plain old age, their death is “precious” to Him (vs. 15).
Believers are precious to God. They are His special treasure, just like that precious item in your home that you hold dear. Maybe it is a special book, some irreplaceable photos, some heirloom jewelry, maybe some love letters. They are dear to you. They are precious. God’s Word says that we are precious to God. He carefully chooses the time when we will be called into His presence. Each and every life is valuable to Him. So though the life of the psalmist was spared, and the lives of many other sick people are spared, don’t ever think that when they are not, it is because God didn’t care about them. Their death is no light matter to God. It is of great importance and consequence to Him. Precious (costly, highly valued, worth a lot) in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
As we look back over our psalm, we see how the author went from the pit to the pinnacle, from agony to ecstasy. It began in the dark valley of sorrow and grief, but ends with a magnificent statement of praise. It is a personal testimony of how God brought him through distress, sorrow, and grief, to where he gives the Lord thanks. But we are also reminded that if we, or a loved one, does not come through healed and safe on the other side, that we are always precious, valuable, and loved in God’s sight.
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