Do you ever struggle to understand affliction?
I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75
Faithful Lord,
The truth is, we don’t like to think that you afflict us.
And then, when we do think you afflict us,
we don’t always remember that it is
“in faithfulness” that you do so.
Today, I can more easily see how and why
you might allow what feels like affliction in our lives.
We have had to withhold food
from our beloved dog-who-thinks-she-is-a-person
since last night at 8 p.m.,
because she is getting her teeth cleaned today.
She has begged,
she has nudged,
she has barked her displeasure
at not getting her morning treats,
her morning meal,
and her second round of morning treats.
(I know, maybe we’re too extravagant with her?)
(But not any less so than you are with us!).
To her, this feels like affliction.
But we know that if we fed her,
she might aspirate while under the anesthetic.
Finally, she has settled,
choosing to take a nap,
choosing to trust
that we have a good reason
for “afflicting” her.
Today, Lord, we pray that we would do the same—
that we would settle,
that we would trust you,
that we would know any affliction we experience
is faithfully, sovereignly, lovingly
administered by you.
In the name of our afflicted Savior we pray. Amen.
Read Psalm 119:67, 71, 75.
