Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. —Psalm 119:67
No one wants to sign up for suffering. But it can be a powerful instrument of spiritual growth. In fact, it’s fair to say that the pathway to holiness always involves suffering of one kind or another.
Suffering happens for different reasons. Sometimes it’s God’s chastening response to our sin (Heb. 12:10). It may also come in the form of pruning so that we may “produce more fruit” for His glory (John 15:2). Often suffering is simply the unavoidable pain associated with living in a fallen world that eagerly awaits our final deliverance from the curse of sin (Rom. 8:19).
Regardless of its cause—and despite its discomfort—affliction remains a gracious gift from God, who loves and disciplines us to purge us from our sin and sanctify our hearts. As Peter exhorts, “since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin” (1 Pet. 4:1). And that is worth every “means of grace.” Even this one.
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The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings © 2012 Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
What have you learned from adversity that you might not have learned any other way?