The greatest affliction of life is never to be afflicted.
– Unknown
Affliction is not pleasant. When we are the recipients of tribulation in this life we feel pain, sorrow and stress. We all would rather it not be our lot, “Let this cup pass from me…” (cf. Matthew 26:39). I recently came across a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald that poignantly describes our perception of severe affliction:
In a real dark night of the soul
it is always three o’ clock in the morning, day after day.
And yet, such affliction is beneficial to the child of God. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
The apostle does not call such affliction light to minimize the pain and suffering we experience. It is light in the sense that it is temporal and fleeting. In contrast, our faithfulness through trial proves us “worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 5:1). It is our lot in life to suffer. It happens to us all. The question is, will we have sufficient patience under such duress to prove us worthy of eternity?
