Affliction is Good?

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."

Psalm 119:71

I don't think anyone sees affliction as intrinsically good, yet the psalmist affirmed through experience that God was able to use affliction for his good.  If a tree could speak, it might cry out in pain to have branches cut and trimmed by a skilled arborist, but as a result of pruning the tree will be healthier and produce more fruit.  Years ago our family had a lemon tree in the back yard with one large but light lemon on it--and it hung there for months.  I didn't want to trim the neglected tree for the sake of the "fruit" that never seemed to ripen, and when I finally harvested it was dry, woody and inedible.  I trimmed the tree following an online tutorial, and the tree for one year did not produce a single lemon.  The next year, however, we harvested over 80 juicy lemons!

When the lemon tree was neglected and left alone, it grew many leaves and branches.  One might imagine cutting off branches would reduce the fruitfulness of the barren tree but it increased exponentially.  This illustrates well the fruitfulness of affliction in a Christian's life, for God uses it to teach us of Himself, guide us to seek Him in times of trouble, and cause our lives to produce holiness.  This morning I read a passage in Hosea where God said He was like a moth unto His people.  Moths are harmless to humans but can be destructive pests because they eat natural fibres people use to make clothes and blankets.  It would have been very disappointing to pull out clothing to wear and find it eaten away and rotted with holes from moths, and this was a picture of the condition of Israel when they rejected God and ceased walking in His ways.  Their society and family fell into decay, and the damage done by sin was obvious and could not be hidden.

Hosea 5:13-15 reads, "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; yet he cannot cure you, nor heal you of your wound. ¹⁴ For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. ¹⁵ I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."  When Ephraim became sick and helpless due to idolatry, God's people sought aid from the Assyrians who could not heal them.  So what did God do?  He brought more severe judgment upon His people, for He became as a young lion to them.  The tearing of a lion is far more deadly than the damage done by moths.  God retreated like a lion to its den until His people were willing to acknowledge their sin and seek His face.  God's affliction of His people was actually a mercy, for in their affliction they would earnestly seek Him--the God who loved them, would rescue and heal them.

Hosea 6:1-2 shows affliction from God led them to unite and return to the LORD:  "Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. ² After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight."  The living God who tore them desired to heal them and inclined to bind their wounds.  He would revive them and raise them up so they might live forever in His presence.  This rising the third day alludes to what God would accomplish by the death and resurrection of Jesus, for the Saviour who laid down His life and was able to take it up again would rise from the dead on the third day glorified.  So Jesus is faithful to do for all who receive Him by faith according to the Gospel.  All who have been redeemed and revived by God can see Him at work in our troubles and say with the psalmist, "It is good I have been afflicted!" because through them God teaches us and makes us more spiritually fruitful.