Read Psalm 119:65-72

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word… It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:67, 71)

Affliction. It is a word we would all prefer to banish from our experience, if not our entire vocabulary! And, praise God, one day this will happen when He wipes away every tear from our eyes. But in this present life, it remains.

Affliction comes in many forms. It might come by way of persecution for your faith in Christ. It might come by way of physical suffering in your body through disease or bodily tears. It might come by way of heartbreaking emotional circumstances or mental breakdowns. Whatever the case, affliction is also spiritual.

God always uses the afflictions we go through in life to minister to our souls and revive our spirits. Persons going through great pain quickly reveal where their faith is. The man who suffers as a self loathing victim is hard to pity. But the man who suffers with a heart full of the love and grace and hope is a spectacle of God's glory!

“but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:13–14)

I think of Polycarp, the disciple of John the Apostle, who was an old, seasoned pastor on the way to being burned at the stake for his faith in Christ. In his final hours, he ministered to the Roman soldiers who were arresting him, he prayed with grace out loud before the masses, and willingly gave his body to be burned for his Lord Jesus Christ Whom, Polycarp said, never once failed him. I say, Polycarp was a man ready for affliction because he was trained by it! Christ enlarged Polycarp’s heart through the sufferings he endured.

And Christ does the same for us. He doesn't waste a single event of suffering. Rather, He commandeers suffering to bring new depths of wisdom and understanding to His Word and insight into God’s glorious character.

Furthermore, a man proves to be a man of the Word, not so much by what he has studied, but by what he has suffered because of his studies. A man proves to be a man of God, not so much by what he has understands about God, but by what he undergoes for God in what he understands.

You see, then, that we must embrace afflictions! As David so eloquently has stated for us in this psalm, it is what brings us to truly learn God's statutes! Afflictions teach us reliance upon the Almighty and transform our character to be Christlike.

Christian - you will endure afflictions. No doubt, you already have. Let the goodness of the Lord minister to your soul through them and draw you closer into His presence. Let the wealth of God's Word be your food and your comfort through such times, and you will become a shining light of God's love and a beacon of God's grace to all who see you. And you yourself will experience God's peace with surpasses all understanding.

“We also rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3–5)