Believing Even When We Are Afflicted

Episode Summary:
In this episode, we address the challenging emotions that come with doubt and uncertainty in our faith journeys. It’s natural to question and seek understanding, especially during difficult times. We’ll explore biblical examples of doubt, practical steps for navigating these feelings, and how to find hope and reassurance in God’s promises even when our faith feels shaky.

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Full Transcript Below:

Believing, Even When We Are Afflicted
By Sarah Frazer

Bible Reading:
"I believed, even when I said, 'I am severely afflicted.'" — Psalm 116:10 (HCSB)

One day, when my son was only eight years old, he was walking our dog down the street. Usually, the dog is pretty calm and doesn’t pull the leash. That day, my son wasn’t even gone for five minutes before I heard a scream. When I looked out the window, I saw him running back toward the house. The dog was pulling frantically on the leash to go back down the street.

After my son entered the house, I bent down and examined him. He was bleeding on his knee and his t-shirt was ripped. He was crying and holding his arm as well. As I cared for his cuts and bruises, he told me that the normally calm dog had seen a squirrel. I knew then what had caused the fall. Although a quiet and sweet dog, she had made it her life mission to rid the world of squirrels.

That day we decided that he might be too young to walk the dog until she either calmed down or he was stronger. Through all of the confusion, I realized something. My son had come to me right away after falling. He wasn’t angry with me; in fact, after taking that horrible spill, he ran directly to me.

As I thought about that simple act from my son, I couldn’t help but think about God. Throughout scripture, we see God reference Himself as “father” to us. In Psalm 116 today, we see the psalmist run to God, even when he is afflicted. Psalm 116 starts out with, “I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy.”

God’s ear is turned toward us. Just as my ears heard right away the scream from outside, I knew the sound of my son’s cries and immediately went toward him. You and I face devastating trials and afflictions year after year. Maybe you are in a season right now where one affliction after another seems to be piling up. It would be easy to avoid God during these times or even be angry with Him. What if, instead, we ran to God?

Over the years, I’ve learned that running to God is actually the best thing I can do. Why? Because His ears are listening for our prayers and cries to Him. The next verses in Psalm 116 detail how the psalmist suffered, even facing death, but God was his helper. I love verse ten because it seems to be the pinnacle of the psalm. He says, “I believed, even when I said, ‘I am severely afflicted.’”

What the psalmist is saying is that he did not shy away from telling God all about his afflictions. The pain did not keep him from crying out to God. And the heartache didn’t keep him from believing in God either. There are truths here that the psalmist hung onto, even when he was afflicted.

The truths we see here are God’s grace, righteousness, and compassion (Psalm 116:5). Where do we see those characteristics of God in our lives today? Jesus! Jesus was God’s righteousness for us. He lived a perfect life because we could not. He allowed His life to take our place so that when God sees you and me, He sees Jesus’ righteousness.

Jesus is also God’s grace to us. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” Jesus brought grace because He died on the cross, taking our place and punishment for us. Now, we are saved and brought into God’s family t