In Faithfulness You Have Afflicted Me

I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Psalm 119:75-76 NIV

I have to admire this psalmist’s relationship with God. There is something special about knowing God so well, and trusting Him so much that you realize even your afflictions are a sign of His faithfulness. It takes spiritual maturity to remain emotionally steady when things go wrong, when people disappoint us or when life becomes a challenge. Let’s be honest, we all face hardships and disappointments, even when we are faithfully serving God. Although we never intend to develop a sense of entitlement, it’s easy to do when we are walking in righteousness. Deep down we know we don’t earn God’s favor, but it’s easy to feel like we are being neglected and mistreated when life comes crashing down and we’ve done nothing to deserve it. It’s human nature to see hardship as punishment from God, but this psalmist recognizes that’s often not the case, in fact he realizes that many times the opposite is true. God allows us to be afflicted because difficulty benefits us. It matures us and draws us closer to Him; and that’s the goal, to have a closer relationship with God.

While God doesn’t keep us from affliction, He does promise that His love will never fail us! So how do we make it when life is hard? We find comfort in His unfailing love. We turn toward Him and not against Him. We refuse to find comfort in anything that takes our focus away from God. We look for His hand in every situation and allow all of our struggles to make us stronger in our faith.

As we rest in His unfailing love, and refuse to allow our emotions to take over, we experience His comfort and His peace. We eventually mature to the point that we can say, like the psalmist, “In faithfulness, You have afflicted me.”