Lesson Purpose:
The design of this lesson is not to provide a complete answer to why mankind
suffers afflictions. Many of the
terrible afflictions that come upon us have no answer but many do and to those
this lesson is addressed. Having experienced the loss a 16 year old son, for no
explainable reason, and a loving spouse of 46 years, I know what it is to
suffer affliction. A friend asked me how did you get through that and I
answered because the center of my life is not my wife or my sons but Jesus
Christ. Keep your life centered on Him
and He will give you the strength to endure, grace to continue, power to
overcome and joy to live by.
Lesson Outline:
1. Affliction as
Retribution
2. Affliction as Loving
Chastisement
3. As Followers of Christ
4. The Ministry of
Affliction
5. Consolation of the
Afflicted
6. Enduring Affliction
7. Prayer in Affliction
Defined
– Noun affliction 1. A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony. 2. The
cause of such a state.
1. Affliction as Retribution
Ge.3.16-17 Then he said to the woman,” I will sharpen the pain of your
pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your
husband, but he will rule over you.” 17 And to the man he
said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I
commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life
you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
La 1.5 Her oppressors
have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many
sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.
Ac. 12.23 Instantly, an
angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the
people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with
worms and died.
2. Affliction as Loving Chastisement
De. 8.5 Think about it:
Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for
your own good.
2 Sam.7.14 I will be his
father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him
with the rod, like any father would do.
Pr.3.11-12 My child,
don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects
you. 12 For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father
corrects a child in whom he delights.
Re.3.19 I correct and
discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your
indifference.
3. As Followers of Christ
Mat.24.9 “Then you will
be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world
because you are my followers.”
4. The Ministry of Affliction
Job 23.10 “But he knows
where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
Psalms 94.12 Joyful are
those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.
Ec. 7.3 Sorrow is better
than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.
Ro.5.3-4 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and
trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4
And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our
confident hope of salvation.
2 Co.4.17 For our present
troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory
that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
Jam. 1.12 God blesses those who patiently
endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life
that God has promised to those who love him.
5.
Consolation of the Afflicted
Ps.23.4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
Ps.119.143 As pressure
and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.
Is.41.10 Don’t be afraid,
for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
1 Co.10.13 The
temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God
is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.
When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
6. Enduring Affliction
Pr.24.10 If you fail
under pressure, your strength is too small.
2 Ti.2.3 Endure suffering
along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
7. Prayer in Affliction
Ps.18.3 I called on the
Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
Mat.26.39 He went on a
little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If
it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want
your will to be done, not mine.”
Outline is
from the Dixon Analytical Bible
Scripture is
from the New Living Bible courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
Arranged and
modified by HKM 02/14/2009
Affliction