“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your statutes.”
—Psalm 119:71
I’ll be honest.
I hate affliction.
Most of us do.
Affliction is anything that causes pain, sorrow, heartache, or suffering. It comes in many forms—a broken relationship, a frightening diagnosis, financial hardship, grief, rejection, loneliness, betrayal, or a burden so heavy you wonder if you can carry it another day.
Yet Jesus said:
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33
One word stands out to me in that verse: you.
Who is “you”?
It is every disciple who heard those words that day. It is every believer who has lived since then.
It is me.
And it is you.
Sometimes I don’t mind being a “you” when the promises are about blessings, joy, and answered prayers. But when the promise is trouble and affliction, I’d rather not be included.
Yet Jesus made it clear that trouble will come to all of us.
I know that firsthand.
As a child, I lived in a home where anger often ruled the atmosphere. My sweet mother suffered physical abuse, and we children experienced verbal abuse. Peace was a stranger in our home.
Later, I experienced affliction in my marriage. There were seasons when I wasn’t sure we would make it. Today, by God’s grace and through many prayers, we are still together.
I have also known the pain of rejection from people I thought would love me and accept me.
Why am I telling you this?
Because affliction did something unexpected in my life.
It drove me to God.
The pain that could have made me bitter became the very thing that led me to the One who could heal my heart.
Years ago, in a season when life felt unbearable, I prayed a simple prayer of surrender. The next morning I woke up with an overwhelming desire to read God’s Word. I sat down in my recliner, opened my Bible, and told God, “I want to know everything You have written.”
I have never stopped reading His Word since that day.
Through every trial, every heartbreak, every disappointment, God’s Word has been my comfort, my strength, and my hope.
There were times I didn’t want to keep going.
Times I wondered how I would survive another day.
But as I read about God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, and His love, I believed Him—and He carried me through.
Perhaps you are in a season of affliction right now.
Maybe your heart is breaking.
Maybe you’re grieving someone you love.
Maybe you’re lonely.
Maybe you’re exhausted from carrying burdens no one else can see.
If that’s where you are, may I gently encourage you to open your Bible.
And if you don’t own one, consider getting one today.
You don’t have to understand everything you read.
Just begin.
The God of all comfort delights in meeting hurting people.
If you’re not sure where to start, begin with Psalm 23.
Read it out loud.
Then read it again.
And again.
Read it until the words move from the page into your heart.
Years ago, a precious older woman in my church suddenly lost her husband—the love of her life. Her grief was overwhelming.
One day while visiting her, I encouraged her to read Psalm 23 aloud whenever the pain became too much to bear.
Several years later she pulled me aside at church.
With tears in her eyes, she told me there had been a day when her grief became so intense she didn’t think she could survive it. She remembered my suggestion and opened her Bible to Psalm 23. She read it aloud over and over again.
As she read, a deep peace settled over her heart.
God met her there.
He comforted her.
He strengthened her.
And He carried her through.
Today she is with the Lord she loved so dearly, reunited with the husband she missed so much.
Friend, God has not changed.
The same Shepherd who comforted David, comforted me, and comforted that grieving widow is ready to comfort you.
Affliction is never pleasant.
But often it is in our deepest valleys that we learn God’s faithfulness most clearly.
Sometimes affliction becomes the doorway through which we discover the comfort, peace, strength, and presence of God.
Perhaps that is why the psalmist could say:
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your statutes.”
The affliction wasn’t good.
But what God taught him through it was.
And the same can be true for you.
Prayer
God of all comfort,
Thank You for Your Word that brings peace to troubled hearts. Thank You that when we feel alone, abandoned, afraid, or overwhelmed, You draw near to us.
Teach us to turn to You in our times of affliction rather than away from You. Open our hearts to Your Word. Help us find comfort in Your promises, strength in Your presence, and hope in Your faithfulness.
For those who are lonely and afflicted today, turn toward them with mercy and grace. Bring them out of their distress. Remind them that they are not forgotten, not abandoned, and not walking through this valley alone.
Thank You for being our Shepherd, our Comforter, and our Peace.
In the precious name of Jesus, Amen
