Five Ways Afflictions Help

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Eliece Rybak

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” (Psalm 119:67)

This verse reveals to us that God sends affliction to help us learn His Word. How does that work? How does affliction help us learn and obey the Word of God?

There are innumerable answers to these questions, as there are innumerable experiences of this great mercy. But here are five:

  1. Affliction takes away the glibness of life and makes us more serious, so that our mindset is more in tune with the seriousness of God’s word. There is not a single glib page in the book of God.
  2. Affliction knocks worldly props out from under us and forces us to rely more on God, which brings us more in tune with the aim of the Word.  For the aim of the Word is that we hope in God and trust him. “For whatever things were aforetime (written in former days) were written for our learning (instruction), that we, through patience and comfort (endurance and through the encouragement) of the Scriptures, might have hope” (Romans 15:4). “But these [things] are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name” (John 20:31).
  3. Affliction makes us search the Scriptures with greater desperation for help, rather than treating it as a marginal part to life. “And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
  4. Affliction brings us into the partnership of Christ’s sufferings, so that we fellowship more closely with him and see the world more readily through His eyes. Paul’s great heart longing was “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship (may share) of His sufferings, being made conformable (becoming more like Him) in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
  5. Affliction mortifies deceitful and distracting fleshly desires. This brings us into a more spiritual frame and makes us receptive to the spiritual Word of God. “Forasmuch, then, as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind (with the same way of thinking), for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (1 Peter 4:1). Suffering has a great sin-killing effect. And the more pure we are, the more clearly we see God (Matthew 5:8). {modified}

May the Holy Spirit give us grace to not begrudge the teaching of God through pain, affliction and suffering. 

His grace is sufficient. (11 Corinthians 12:9) 

He is faithful…always. (1 Thess. 5:24; 11 Thes. 3:3;  Phil. 1:6) 

He says in Jeremiah 31:13b, 14, and 25 that He will saturate the soul of the weary and sorrowful with His Goodness. 

Truly, having the Awesome Lord that we serve saturate our soul …literally with Himself in His Goodness…is an amazing experience.  That means for us who have suffered in life’s trials…maybe through no fault of our own, but just as life brings them to us, we can know in our soul the everlasting, awesome Goodness of God. 

(This is assuming that we know Him as personal Savior, and accepted Him as the payment for our sins on the cross.  If you need to understand that Bible truth, go to the home page, and click on “Where will I spend Eternity?” God not only wants to be your Father and Savior, but He will walk with you through your afflictions. May He Bless you.)

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