Why It’s Good to Suffer / David Jeremiah

Why It’s Good to Suffer It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71 Why would anyone say something seemingly unnatural—that pain is good for me? Only when the result of the pain is more beneficial than the pain is difficult. For example, we may be willing to endure the temporary pain of surgery in order to correct a life-threatening medical condition.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 119:67, 75, 92

But what if the pain is not life or death—just the travails of daily life in a fallen world? Why is adversity a good thing? The psalmist gives the answer in three verses—we learn more of God and His Word when we experience pain or adversity (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75). God’s Word tells us that God is good, faithful, and loving—all attributes we are tempted to question when we suffer. So when God ministers to us during our trials and carries us through them, we learn afresh that He is good, faithful, and loving. That’s why “it is good for me that I have been afflicted.” If you are in a moment or season of suffering, turn to God through His Word to be reminded of who He is and what He has promised you.   God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. C. S. Lewis