19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
God has never promised anyone that they wouldn’t have to sacrifice or suffer. It is the human condition. Even if we go back to the story of Adam and Eve, they couldn’t have everything, they had to avoid the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden or they would suffer the consequences. But it looked so good, why was God making them suffer?
Well, we know the rest of the story! There will always be something we can’t have, or can’t do. There will always be times when we will suffer for our beliefs. We may do everything right, and still get sick, break an arm or a leg, lose a job, a home, a loved one.
Is God punishing us? Of course not! No one escapes. We might look at those who are not righteous, and think that they seem to have it all. We might see wealth or power or fame, but do we really see it all? We don’t see that they, too, get sick, lose people they love, etc. What God promises us is that he will be with us through the sufferings that we endure.
Haven’t you sometimes thought, or even said, “I don’t know how people who don’t have faith get through this!” I know I have. Whether it is the loss of a child or a spouse, or losing everything in a fire or a flood, or other type of disaster, I don’t know how they do it.
I try to be the best I can be because I am so grateful for the presence of God in my life. What about you?
Loving God, you don’t promise us a life without pain, but you do promise that you will walk with us through the afflictions that this life brings. Thank you. Amen.
