Day 22: Hope in Sorrows & Affliction

 

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Our hope was always supposed to be in God Himself.

Scriptures of the Day:

Exodus 3:7

And Jehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.

2 Chronicles 33:12

“And when he was in affliction, he sought Jehovah his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.”

Job 36:15

“He delivers the poor in his affliction, and opens their ears by oppression.”

Psalms 119:50

“This is my comfort in my affliction; for Your Word has given me life.”

Kneeling on the ground I looked up to the ceiling and cried out aloud. “Why, God?” “Why did I have to lose this child?” I reached for my Bible, asking God to help me understand. I opened up to Psalm 119:67-72: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. … 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”

How could a miscarriage ever be good? But that day my tears were turned to joy as I was in awe of the truth that it was in love that God allowed affliction into my life. He is good and in His faithfulness He afflicts those he loves. How can it be faithful to allow affliction? Affliction works to deliver us from waywardness and causes us to draw nearer to God.

“Deep calls to deep” is a phrase that is at the foundation of my ministry and how God has used the greatest sorrows of my life and in others. We would never want to walk through such deep waters of affliction, but it is the affliction itself that accomplishes miracles within us and a closeness with God we never knew before.

The hardest moments of my life have only caused me to go deeper with my God and I would not trade those precious gifts for the world. The hope in affliction is sure. The word says that God sees us in our suffering and He Himself will comfort us. There is no greater comfort than this.

It is affliction and sorrow that bring us to God. When we see how He cares for the lilies of the field and that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from His will, we know that nothing happens to us apart from His sovereign good will and purposes.

The hope in affliction is different than the hope we had before the affliction. The hope for no suffering becomes a hope to glorify God in it. But more than that, we realize our hope for temporary gain pales in comparison to the hope that God has in store for us.

Our hope was never supposed to be in the hope the world offers. The world’s hope ends. No, our hope was always supposed to be in God Himself.

“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:18)

I wrote this song, “Deeper” as part of our Seeing Deep EP. I pray that in whatever rejection or pain you have had to bear you will know the hope we have in affliction – we will go deeper with God and draw nearer to God!

Lord, You are our hope. Nothing else and on one else could ever be a living hope. Help us to abide in You always.