The Wealth of Affliction

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.” (Ho 2:14-15 AV)

Sometimes, the blessings of affliction are greater than the security of prosperity.  The LORD will take Israel into the wilderness because of their disobedience.  They had compromised with the pagan nations around them and had surrendered the blessings of holiness for the temporal trappings of prosperity.  It is often difficult to have both.  Affliction should not be feared.  There are times for it.  Prosperity has its place.  But so, too, does affliction.  In our passage, the LORD says they will sing again, in their affliction, as they did in their infancy.  They will again discover their spiritual roots and blessings which come of it because the comfort and security of prosperity is removed.  Perfect health is great.  But when pain comes, the LORD seems more real.

One of the fascinating things about older folks is listening to the way they lived decades earlier.  The speak of the hardships of country living.  No refrigeration.  No air conditioning.  No TV, radio, or phone service.  One of my good friends who has passed away used to tell me of the time he and his siblings rode horses to school.  Another, how he used to walk five miles through crop fields.  There are the stories of storing meat without refrigeration.  Of canning, hog killings, and sharing beds with siblings.  There are the times they entertained themselves the simple way liking catching frogs at the river, playing in the creeks, or simply having a time with the family dog.  They were hard times.  But they speak of those days with a smile on their faces because the hard times were the good times.

We are brainwashed into thinking we deserve and should pursue with all our might the good and prosperous way.  One commercial after another entices us to a product that will make our lives all the richer.  We are told that our lives are not what they could be unless we had the finest of the finest.  If truth be told, sitting at the edge of a pond with nothing more than the Word of God is far richer than a cruise around the world!  Affliction is a good thing.  It can also be a wealth of riches yet discovered!