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"WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT BEING AFFLICTED?" "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalm 119:71)It would be nice to live free from afflictions, wouldn't it? But think about this with me: If the Lord would have left Adam and Eve in that perfect environment after the fall in the Garden of Eden, they would have never known they had that deadly infection of sin. But God gave them the remedy for their sin by the shedding of blood to provide coats to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:21).What a glorious type of Christ on the Cross that picture was. That certainly points to that day when Jesus shed His blood for that sinful infection we inherited when we took our first breath, and also the afflictions of sin it causes as we continue down the road of life.Now, when afflictions visit us, and they will, they should cause us to look to and lean on the Lord Jesus. When we suffer from afflictions let us suffer it well and rejoice in His grace which enables us to do so. Then, we can thank God for them because of the good it brings when the results are seen in our life. May I remind you again what the Psalmist said in the above verse I posted: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted;"You see, God has a good purpose for each of us. Would it be to live without having any aches or pain, or like my Mom used to say to never have a hitch in your get-along? Would it be to have more money than we know what to do with? Are we to run around living it up like a bunch of happy-go-lucky fun-seekers whose only goal in life is to eat, drink, and be merry?Not at all. God's wonderful plan for you and I as His children is to be more like Jesus and less like us! Therefore, the problems that come our way, are never meant to hurt us, but rather to hasten us to be drawn closer to the bosom of Christ Who provides the answers for life's difficulties.Those difficulties, the problems, and the afflictions we face on a daily basis while on Earth can indeed be terrible and troublesome; but they bring with them the surety that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us while we are going thru them.Like those 3 Hebrew boys who were cast into that furnace of affliction which was heated up 7 times hotter than ever before, yet, when we read the rest of the story, lo and behold, we find the Son of God was right in there with them walking around a havin' a high ole time. Can't you just see the 4 of them rejoicing together? When I give myself to thinking about that scene, I can picture their Divine Deliverance it in my mind. Well folks, the truth of the Son of God's ever-abiding Presence ought to light a fire within each of us even if our wood is too wet to burn.Friends, when was the last time you and I thanked God for the problems and afflictions in our life? Let's think of them as good opportunities that draw us nearer to the very heart of our Lord where we will learn His statutes and experience His deliverance!