him out of them all" (Psalms 34:19).
It is no news that the righteous could be afflicted. Indeed, many are the afflictions of the righteous. But the good news is that total deliverance is assured for the man who is in right standing with God and doing the right things in His sight.
It is true that afflictions could arise as a result of sin. That means we are living a life that is at variance to the will of God. Thus when passing through afflictions, it is good to examine our ways, make amends where necessary, and align with the program of God for our lives. However, for the most part, evil comes to the righteous, not necessarily because of their sins, but because the enemy is mad at the righteous for being on the side of God. What is interesting in all these things is how God turns the table against the devil to deliver
the righteous and even uses the afflictions to promote His own. May the Lord turn your trials into testimony,
Some afflictions are necessary for your manifestation. You may not like what I have just said, but that is the truth. Or why do you think the Bible encourages us to rejoice in tribulations and afflictions?
Joseph's case is a classic example. Without the unpleasant things he went through, he could never have ended up as the prime minister of Egypt. Every problem he had was inching him closer and closer to the
throne. He flew on the wings of afflictions into his glorious destiny. I pray for you that you shall not be afflicted in vain. May your afflictions bring the best of God into your life.
Affliction could be a 'school' permitted by God to teach you things you would never have learned otherwise. No wonder that David admitted: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy
statutes" (Psalms 119:71). The way it works is that afflictions tend to draw the righteous closer to God, and that is why the devil always ends up the loser when he afflicts a true child of God. Hear David again: "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word" (Psalms 119:67). Therefore, my counsel in time of afflictions is to learn the lessons and forget the experience, looking forward to the good that God will bring out of it.
Sometimes also, afflictions are allowed by the Lord to actually shield you from more grievous troubles. That reminds me of a Chinese proverb that says "a stumble may prevent a fall". Recovery from a stumble will
be easier and faster, but a fall could be fatal and final. Who knows, the trouble you are passing through may just be some stumbling to awaken your sensitivity to the more terrible potential dangers you could face in the future.
So before you grumble against God about your light afflictions, think about all these things, watch for what God might be doing which will always be more powerful than whatever the devil is doing, and which will also outlast the antics of the evil one. Then let Jehovah have your praise and the devil shall be put to shame.
IT IS WELL!
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