God Is Faithful to Afflict You
Yes, it’s true. God is faithful to afflict his people, and if you’re trusting in Jesus for salvation and following him, that includes you.
“I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” (Psalm 119:75 ESV)
Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend
But how can this be true? It seems to go against everything in our nature to believe that causing pain to someone is an act of faithful love.
Or does it? Haven’t you ever done this? Haven’t you ever caused pain to someone by telling them the hard truth in order to save them from the greater pain of embarrassment or other consequences?
And hasn’t anyone ever done this for you? Haven’t you ever been given a painful medical treatment in order to prevent your illness from causing you greater suffering in the long run? We had my daughter’s throat swabbed recently to check for strep throat. She gagged and struggled and screamed with frustration and pain after the procedure was done; and I would never have put her through that if I didn’t have to in order to take the best care of her.
I hope you can relate. And if you can, that is God’s grace to you to help you better understand that he does the same for us: he is a loving Father who afflicts us when necessary for our good.
It Is Better to Be Afflicted Than to Abandon God
You don’t have to take my word for it, though. Affliction is a theme in Psalm 119. Consider the following verses:
“This is comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” (Psalm 119:50 ESV)
“You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:65-68 ESV, emphasis added)
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” (Psalm 119:71-72 ESV)
“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” (Psalm 119:92 ESV)
The psalmist is convinced that his affliction was a blessing because it reminds him where true joy is found: not in gold or silver (which can be taken away); not in anything except God’s word, and his promise of life. He recognizes that it is better to be afflicted by the discomfort of discipline than to be allowed to go astray and abandon God’s word. And he is glad that God loved him enough to afflict him, since the affliction taught him that true delight can only be found in obeying God’s word.
We see a similar attitude in Hebrews where the author reminds us that God’s discipline is done lovingly and “for our good, that we may share his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:7-11 ESV) Of course, I’m not suggesting (nor is the psalmist) that you can earn God’s favor through obedience. We know that cannot be the case (see Romans 3:23 and 6:23). But true joy is found in trusting God’s promise of eternal life with him, which is ours because Jesus purchased it for us! True joy is found when we show by our obedience that we are trusting in those promises!
Nor am I suggesting that every affliction is a form of discipline (see Job, for example). However, consider what Jesus says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2 ESV)
You do not know whether God may be saving you from abandoning your faith by bringing you through something so hard that it brings you to him in desperation, and there you find true joy and hope in him.
It may be that God is pruning you through your affliction, and your true joy and hope in God is the good fruit that you bear.
If you are God’s child by faith in Jesus, then every affliction is accomplishing a good work in you and for you. Perhaps you won’t see it until you’re face to face with Jesus one day in heaven. Whatever his specific design in your particular affliction, you can rest assured: your Father is good and he loves you. If you truly believe this, you will find that much fear and anxiety loses its hold on your life. And you can, by his grace, respond to afflictions (including the fear of being afflicted) in faithfulness and trust.
What Might God Be Doing through Your Affliction?
Think about your afflictions. How do you respond when afflicted? Do you ask “Why, God?”
“Why have you dashed my romantic hopes?”
“Why did you take my loved one from me?”
“Why do you make me suffer from infertility or miscarriages?”
“Why do you allow the dark fog of depression or anxiety to be my constant companion?”
“Why does my life have to feel so lonely?”
“Why do you allow abuse? Neglect? Addiction?”
“Why didn’t you prevent me from giving in to temptation?”
The list could go on, but I imagine you can relate to at least one of these questions.
What Is God Calling You To?
First, I want to say that you should not resign yourself to living in some of these conditions (like abuse). There are certainly things you can do to find help for many of these afflictions, and people like Erica Foster, Ashley Linder, and our pastors are eager to be of aid to you!
But as you seek to overcome these afflictions, perhaps by medical aid in addition to the aid of our God and his church, my encouragement to you is that you examine your heart. Seek to become, with God’s help, who he wants you to be as a result of this affliction.
Ask and Share
Ask God to do a mighty work in your heart. Plead with him and don’t stop until he does! Ask him to reveal any hidden sin in your heart and to make your heart soft with repentance and faith in Jesus. Ask him to complete the good work he has begun in you. Ask him to save others through your testimony, and be courageous and ready to share with others his faithfulness in the midst of your affliction.
I don’t pretend to know particularly what God is faithfully doing through your afflictions. But I do know that one day, when we stand before His throne and look back, we will understand. And I urge you that as you grieve, struggle, and wrestle, you do it with a heart that trusts your Father’s good and faithful hand in your life.