Comfort for the Afflicted

WHEN faithful men and women in the past suffered affliction, they prayed earnestly to God for guidance. Yet, they also took the initiative to alleviate the affliction, such as by using ingenuity to escape oppressors. For example, reliance on Jehovah combined with personal effort enabled David to endure his adversity. What about us today?

When experiencing affliction, you likely take the initiative to solve your problem. For instance, if you find yourself unemployed, do you not put forth effort to find a suitable job that will sustain you and your family? (1 Timothy 5:8) Or if you suffer from a physical ailment, do you not seek adequate medical help? It is interesting that Jesus, who had power from God to cure all types of illnesses, acknowledged that ‘the ailing need a physician.’ (Matthew 9:12) Still, your adversities may not always be removed; you may have to continue enduring them to some extent.

Why not take the matter to Jehovah God in prayer? For instance, when searching for employment, prayerful reliance on God will help us to resist any temptation to accept work that conflicts with Bible principles. We will also avoid being “led astray from the faith” by greed or the love of money. (1 Timothy 6:10) Really, when making important decisions regarding employment or family or health concerns, we can follow David’s exhortation: “Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.”​—Psalm 55:22.

Heartfelt prayer will also help us to keep our mental balance so that our affliction does not overwhelm us. A genuine Christian, the apostle Paul wrote: “In everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God.” In what way can sincere prayer comfort us? “The peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7) The peace of God “excels all thought.” Therefore, it can stabilize  us when we are burdened with distressing emotions. It will ‘guard our hearts and our mental powers,’ thus helping us to avoid reacting rashly and unwisely, which could add to our affliction.

Prayer can even make a difference in how a situation works out. When the apostle Paul became a prisoner in Rome, he humbly asked fellow Christians to pray in his behalf. Why did Paul make this request? “I exhort you more especially to do this,” he wrote to them, “that I may be restored to you the sooner.” (Hebrews 13:19) In other words, Paul knew that Jehovah’s hearing the persistent prayers of his fellow believers might make a difference as to when he would be released.​—Philemon 22.

Will prayer change the outcome of our affliction? It may. Yet, we should realize that Jehovah God may not answer our prayers in a way that we would prefer. Paul prayed several times about his “thorn in the flesh,” perhaps a physical problem. Rather than removing the affliction, however, God told Paul: “My undeserved kindness is sufficient for you; for my power is being made perfect in weakness.”​—2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

So, then, our affliction may not disappear immediately. However, we will have the opportunity to prove our reliance on our heavenly Father. (James 1:2-4) Be assured that even if Jehovah God does not remove the affliction, he can “make the way out in order for [us] to be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) It is noteworthy that Jehovah is called “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4) God can give us what we need to endure, and we have the hope of everlasting life.

God’s Word, the Bible, promises that Jehovah “will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) Does a world without affliction sound almost too good to be true? It may if you have been accustomed to living with adversity. Nonetheless, freedom from fear and calamity is what God has promised, and his purpose will definitely succeed.​—Isaiah 55:10, 11.

[Pictures on page 9]

From despair to relief