Affliction is unpleasant.

As I write this, I am thinking of a dear relative of mine who fell yesterday, breaking her ribs and collapsing her lung. Undoubtedly, she is a faithful woman of God. Hopefully in the coming days, I will visit her in the hospital. I ponder, what comfort in the Lord will I be able to offer her? From one perspective, she could say, “Lord, I’ve been faithful to you all these years! Why would you let this happen to me?” I doubt she will think this way but some folks may be tempted to, given such circumstances. But such a perspective does not recognize that our Sovereign God uses affliction to reveal himself more fully unto us. 

God Comforts Us In Affliction

Affliction brings us to the awareness and experience of our Heavenly Father’s mercy and comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Anecdotally, I do not typically seek comfort when I’m comfortable. Unfortunately, when I’m comfortable, I often fail to praise God for providing such a blessing. It is affliction that often drives me to seek God when I am apathetic toward him, and it is affliction that reminds me to be thankful when I experience God’s comfort. In his commentary on 2 Corinthians 1, Matthew Henry writes:

All comforts come from God, and our sweetest comforts are in him. He speaks peace to souls by granting the free remission of sins; and he comforts them by the enlivening influences of the Holy Spirit, and by the rich mercies of his grace. He is able to bind up the broken-hearted, to heal the most painful wounds, and also to give hope and joy under the heaviest sorrows.

God Sanctifies Us in Affliction

Not only do we experience abundant comfort in our affliction but the psalmist teaches that affliction is also an occasion for sanctification, growing in obedience, and conforming into the image of Christ. Psalm 119:67 says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” Sometimes in our unruliness, affliction comes in the consequences of disobeying a holy God (see the life of Jacob in Genesis). In God’s loving and redemptive nature, he does not leave us alone in the affliction of harsh consequences, but rather uses such a time to teach us and transform our desires into his desires (heart change). Notice the psalmist says “but now.” Before suffering affliction, the psalmist disobeyed God . . . But now! But now! But now, the psalmist knows the value of obedience through affliction! Such a thought brings echoes of John’s declaration, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1). Behold the love of God to sanctify his people through affliction when they have just sinned against him. What love? The love of our Heavenly Father who uses affliction to sanctify us and comfort us!

God Uses Our Affliction to Minister to Others

Paul states these truths of mercy and comfort to the church at Corinth but also shows them how affliction helps us minister to others. In  ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3-5, he writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

The ultimate picture of affliction is Jesus Christ on the cross. It is his sinlessness despite such affliction that uniquely qualifies him to be our perfect sacrifice. Since he endured affliction in the form of temptation, he sympathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). Isaiah 53:4 states that “we ourselves esteemed him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted” (emphasis added). The Latin translation of this passage in Isaiah says, “et nos existimavimus eum percussum, vulneratum a Deo et humiliatum.” Note the English says “and afflicted,” while the Latin says, “et humiliatum.” Humiliatum carries the sense of humiliation, something the book of Hebrews alludes to when it says that Christ despised the shame as he endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). Humilatum also carries the sense of humbleness, something the book of Philippians reveals, stating that “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). These examples show us the deep affliction Christ experienced when he came to our planet in the flesh. It is through affliction that he bought the elect, fulfilled God’s promises, and guaranteed our righteousness now and on the day of our judgment (past affliction). It is also through affliction that he helps us, in our finite state, to look unto him in the midst of our affliction and hold in our hearts this truth: He knows what I’m going through because he went through worse (present help). In short, Jesus’ affliction was a form of ministry to others and was for the purpose of ministry to others. God blesses us with Christ-likeness when he uses our affliction to minister to others.

Conclusion

So, what will I share with my afflicted relative? I do not know for sure but if the occasion arises, I will seek to comfort her through the truth that God will use her pain to sanctify her and that he may even use it to comfort somebody else. Whether it be Jesus on the cross, Paul in prison, Polycarp at the stake, John Knox on the ship, or my family member in the hospital, God is present and purposeful in the affliction of his people. May we remember these truths when it is our turn to receive comfort in affliction.

God is faithful.