A Gift Found in Affliction

We often see suffering and hardship only as an unwelcome guest,
And conversely, overflowing health and wealth as the marks of those who’re truly blessed.

But things are rarely black and white; and there is a nuance I would posit.
Through the pain I’ve faced in life, in my mind some truth Jesus did deposit.

While suffering in and of itself is bad, there is also a gift found in affliction.
For, purified rare earth metals can’t be had in the absence of heat and friction.

To be prosperous can tend to pride, and pride’s poison of course leads to death.
So to be laid low by affliction in mid-stride, may be a chance to save our breath.

For our God, the Giver of life, is opposed to the proud.
But because His heart, with love for us, is rife, humbling circumstances are allowed.

Affliction can serve to help us see what prosperity often blinds us to.
We are not the root of the Tree, but rather, a branch that from Him, grew.

We’re made and sustained by God, and we each have a desperate need.
With chains of sin and death we’re shod, and only by Him can we be freed.

One gift to be found in affliction, is the humbling knowledge that we’re lost,
But also that for our ransom, Jesus Christ fully paid the cost.

We cannot save ourselves, and to be saved we must be made to see,
Our only hope to escape Hell is faith in Jesus’ redemptive work on Calvary.

I speak in generalities; of course in most things there’s exceptions.
But what is true for all is that we need to be freed of sin’s deceptions.

Life is short and death’s not the end; earthly affliction’s not the final word of the story.
Whether laid low or riding high, know that only in Christ is true victory.

When affliction comes your way, trust in Christ and hold fast.
Those who humbly trust will see the day, when all sin and suffering is forever past.