Sunshine With The Rain

“Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.” (Ps 90:15 AV)

This seems like a very reasonable and acceptable request.  Simply put, the writer is asking the LORD to give them just as many good days as they had bad ones.  He is asking the LORD to bless them to the same level as He has allowed adverse situations.  The Psalmist is simply asking for a balanced life.  He is not so naïve as to think life can be one big party with no consequences.  He does not think life can be a lived completely absent of all trouble.  He is not so immature that he cannot adjust to the hardships of life.  We live in a world corrupted by the sin of mankind.  Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.  Our writer is not asking the LORD to remove all adverse situations of life.  He is not seeking eternal peace on this side of glory.  He is a realist.  He knows that is not possible.  What he is asking for is balance.  If he has a really bad day, he is asking for a really good day to balance it out.  If he has a deep trial of faith, he is asking for an equally tranquil time of rest.  If the LORD is chastening him, then he asks the LORD to equally affirm him.  If persecution abounds, then he asks for a time of peace.  Whatever the LORD allows, the Psalmist is asking He also sends; that he might endure all that God asks him to endure.

As a child, many of my experiences were camping.  Camping is a great illustration of the above principle.  As a child, all the affliction of camping rests on the adults.  They have to take care of all the logistics for the entire group.  They have to set up camp and organize firewood, water, and latrine location.  They have to formulate procedures to keep everyone safe.  If there is a mishap, they have to solve it.  All we kids did was to play in the woods and at the pond.  However, as we got a bit older, many of those responsibilities fell on us.  There were dishes to do.  There was firewood to gather.  We were delegated the wonderful task of filling our water station with water from the pond.  This station was a 55gal metal drum laying on its side suspended over a fire pit so it could be sterilized.  My father had a thing about thorn apple trees.  He has a constant battle with them.  Every year, we would walk the property and cut them down.  If we found one, down it went.  But we were the ones who ventured into the woods and helped our father clear them.  There were rainy days when all we could do is find a tent to duck into.  There was poison ivy to avoid,  mosquitoes eating us alive, and any number of cuts, splinters, or other injuries that came to children playing in the wilderness.  Among the hardships were countless hours of fishing or swimming.  There were card or board games in the camper while the pitter-patter of the rain hit the canvas.  There were s’mores over an open fire.  There was the clear night sky we could only see when we went camping.  With all the downside of camping, there was also an upside.

Life has its ups and downs.  There is nothing that can stop this cycle of life.  It is the natural part of our fallen world.  What we can do is keep ourselves from reacting so much to the negative that we cannot see the positive.  It is important to take advantage of the good times because the bad times will never completely go away.  They will always be there.  Here is a thought.  I wonder if, after this prayer, the psalmist sought out the gladness which he prayed for?  Being overwhelmed with affliction often makes it difficult to see the gladness that is around us.  I wonder if the writer came to terms with the afflictions with which he was afflicted so he could then search for the gladness that was certain to come?  Did he allow the afflictions to define his life?  Or, once having prayed this prayer, looked upward for a silver lining?  Did he allow his circumstances to so overwhelm him that it is all he could think about?  Or, did he pray this prayer knowing all trials are temporary and then look outward for the gladness God was certain to send?  I think if he prayed in faith, then the latter is what he did.  This prayer is prayed with God’s mercy and benevolence in mind.  The promise of God to keep us from wilting in the middle of a deep trial by being with us and providing a way in which we can cope is what this writer did.  He did not allow his emotions to rule the day.  He accepted the afflictions.  He did not try to fight against them.  What he asked for is for the LORD to balance those afflictions with a different perspective.  He asked the LORD to send the sunshine with the rain.  He did not ask the LORD to take away the rain completely.