Why Do I Suffer Affliction?

Have you wondered, if God is going to bring blessing into my life, why do I seem to have so many struggles? Church, we have seasons of struggles and testing, the Lord has a purpose in not allowing us to be fruitful at all times. The seasons of struggle work to destroy the pride we have in our own abilities and reinforces our sufficiency on God.

I like what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17: Light affliction, which is but for a moment. Basically, Paul is letting us know, the seasons of struggle and testing will too pass. While you are going through this time, it may not be a season of change but a season of survival. Have you been there before? It is a time you cannot alter, but a time you have to live out. Let me explain what I mean by comparing ourselves to the seasons of a tree. During the winter, the forest silently refurbishes its strength, it is a time of preparation for the next season of fruitfulness. Its branches will rock in the wind, the sap and substance of the tree in the winter go underground, but it is not good-bye, for in the spring it will push its way up into the budding of a new experience.

Church, temporary setbacks create opportunities for fresh commitment and renewal. We will have our seasons of sunshine as well as our seasons of rain, for each stage has its purpose.

And who has not encountered the temptation to make a permanent decision based on temporary circumstances? Our temporary circumstances do not necessarily require action, they do however, require prayer, and prayer will bring us into patience during this time. Patience is developed through trust, and we cannot trust a God we do not talk with. Prayer is the seasoning of good judgment.

I am encouraged by the promise of God in Habakkuk 2:3, For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry

We struggle in waiting for the appointment we have with destiny. God has set in motion, before the foundations of the earth, a predetermined appointment to bring to pass His promise in our lives. Though the winds of adversity may blow against us, God has already set an appointment with us in times past, God has already prepared a way of escape for the season of struggle and testing you might be going through right now. And when we have the peace of God, knowing our deliverance is at hand, then we also have the assurance there is nothing the enemy can do to abort God’s plan.

Peace then come when we know there is nothing we can do to rush God’s plan, for when the Lord speaks into our life, it is like a seed. A seed takes time to sprout, and peace is knowing that God will bring the seed to germination if we will allow Him. I have confidence in God’s seed. It is not by human might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord Zech. 4:6 states. I have an appointment with destiny, and so do you. God has a purpose for my life. (Have them say, God has a purpose for my life). It is this awareness of that God has a purpose for my life that causes me to rise out of bed every morning, that causes me to fight for my very survival in a hostile world, and I can say with confidence that "My life can’t end without certain things coming to pass. It is not over until God says It’s over."

Can I speak to you parents and grandparents for a moment. It is important as parents to instill a sense of destiny in our children and grandchildren. Once they realize they have immeasurable potential, there is no stopping them. This is not to say they might not deviate from the path, I think all of us at one time or another have experienced this. But thank God they have a path to deviate from. There are so many children today who do not have a path to look at because their parents and grandparents have not spoken forth the truth of Christ in their lives.

In Genesis 3:15, God made a promise to Eve after she had partaken of the forbidden fruit in Eden. God said, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. Although God was addressing satan in this passage, there is included in this a promise to Eve of a seed, she was going to have offspring. In chapter 4 we read of the birth of Cain, and then the birth of Abel, his brother. Cain was jealous of Abel, so much so, that Cain killed his younger brother, and in that fit of rage, Eve’s dream lay dead in ruin, Cain was now a criminal, and Abel a corpse.