Affliction. A word that is seen numerous times in the Bible. But what does it mean literally and in application to our lives? (I say “our” to encompass myself and all of the Christians of this world.) Well, the dictionary definition of the word affliction is this:
Some synonyms of affliction are: mishap, trouble, tribulation, calamity, catastrophe, disaster.
Those are some pretty strong words, huh?
I’m going to take you through a few verses of Psalms 119 where the word affliction is seen, and compare 2 translations of the Bible, to get a deeper understanding of what each verse is saying. The bolded verses are the NIV translations and in the italics are a contemporary English translation. I like to read the Bible in multiple translations to really deepen my understanding and clarify the message that is written.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Psalms 119:67
“Once you corrected me for not obeying you, but now I obey”
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Psalms 119:71
“When you corrected me, it did good because it taught me to study your laws.”
“I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” Psalms 119:75
“Your decisions are correct, and you were right to punish me.”
“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Psalm 119:92
“If I had not found happiness in obeying your Law, I would have died in misery.”
One major thing stands out to me when I look at the 2 translations back to back: The words afflicted/affliction seem to go hand in hand with the words corrected and punish. What this says to me is that yes, God does punish us, and yes, God does correct us when we need to be corrected. God loves us so much, that he corrects us and punishes us in the same way loving parents corrects their children, to save them from making mistakes in the future (Proverbs 3:12).
Being a Christian is not easy. Once you are born again, your old self dies, and you aren’t living for yourself anymore. You are living for God as His servant. When God calls us to be his children, we don’t live by the world’s rules anymore; we live by God’s rules. Once God reveals Himself to us, we are forever changed. Sure, we can go our own way and reject Jesus– if we want to end up in Hell and eternally separated from Him. But when we choose to follow Him, it is not going to be an overnight transformation or an easy change of lifestyle. As Christians, we will be mocked by the world that we now live in but are not of. We may feel alone because we aren’t as easily accepted by friends anymore, or we just don’t have the same lifestyles as our friends anymore. We will be struggling everyday, in an ongoing battle between our old self and all it’s wicked ways, and our new self, striving for righteousness. We will be under constant attack from the devil, who will do anything he can to win us back– because when we’re consumed in the world–money, sex, greed, alcohol, etc…– Satan has us. But, when we receive Jesus into our hearts, we are FREE FROM ALL THAT IS IN THE WORLD. We no longer are bound and chained by sin. BUT… this is easier said than done.
I can tell you, from my own experience, life after salvation thus far has been a bumpy road. I was saved a little over a year ago, and have struggled everyday. I am so thankful for my salvation, but I face afflictions everyday in my life. In the beginning months after I was saved, I used to get so angry with God because my life wasn’t a nice, smooth ride like I thought it would be. I would refuse to pray, and absolutely reject reading the Bible. I was so angry with God. What happened with my life? I faced one humbling experience after the next. I was filled with pride and arrogance that got chipped away little by little. I cried everyday for months, feeling helpless, wondering why I believed in God at all, and being angry at my boyfriend who told me the Gospel, thinking life would be so much easier had I never heard it. But, what I have realized, is that when I was angry at God, he allowed me to go through some afflictions. He allowed me to struggle, to cry, to be depressed. He knew very well that once I reached my breaking point, that is when I would seek him wholeheartedly instead of giving him only half of my heart, allowing half of it to remain in the world. He knew what it would take to humble me and make me seek him earnestly. Once I sought Him, and begged for Him to lead my life, I was filled with the Holy Spirit. We had a baptism of the Holy Spirit at my Pentecostal church, and I was able to speak tongues through the Holy Spirit. My eyes were opened, my heart was filled with joy and with thanks, and my pride was broken.
So, to sum it all up… God used my afflictions to lift me up and save me from them. He corrected me, maybe punished me, but for my own good. He corrected me out of love. He used my daily struggles to pull me out of idleness, and strive to read the Word, and seek him on a daily basis instead of when it was convenient for me. He made me realize that I can’t go one day without Him in my life. Not even one day. My pride starts welling up, I get moody, it’s just not good. Now, I’m not saying that life will be easy as a believer, but I am saying this: God will always be by your side through everything. He knows all of our hearts and He knows things we don’t even want to admit about ourselves. There is nothing we can hide from God, so why not just share everything with Him. Even after having God in my life, I mess up brutally. I say things out of rage when arguing with my boyfriend, I don’t always honestly bless my friends, I get angry. But what is beautiful in all of this is that all of my afflictions of my everyday life show me how much I need God. I am thankful for every struggle I face, because I know that God will use them all for my good. He doesn’t put negative things in my life to rebuke me and then leave me stranded. I put negative things in my own life, but He uses them as an opportunity to build me up on a foundation of HIM.
If you are a new Christian like me, don’t be discouraged when you stumble. Thank God always for your afflictions and repent always for your wrongdoings. God doesn’t condemn us– that’s what the devil does. But, God convicts us– letting us know when we are wrong. And honestly, I am completely humbled that God loves me enough to correct me through love, when sometimes I deserve for Him to turn His back completely on me. No matter how long you have been a Christian for, you will never be enough on your own. Everyone needs Jesus and everyone needs the Holy Spirit to guide us.
Thank you for reading, I hope this helped someone who is going through the struggles of being a new Christian.
Beautiful_in_Christ 