I’ve stumbled upon this great verse before:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

I love that verse. Why? Because it states reality so beautifully. It doesn’t say, “Those who trust God never have heartache, because God sees to it that nothing bad ever happens to His saints.” It says the truth. We who are righteous (by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on our behalf) are afflicted in this world. But God delivers us. (Click to tweet)

Think about it this way. He is a loving parent. He wants His children to trust Him. He sees when we’re walking down difficult paths, but He also knows if He delivers us too soon, we might think (wrongly) that we delivered ourselves from the peril. So He waits. And we rail. And fight. And yell sometimes. Why has God left us afflicted? Doesn’t He love us?

The deliverance He brings is always in His perfect timing. (Click to tweet) And I firmly believe it’s sweeter the more we’re afflicted.

Sometimes folks ask me how I seem so close to Jesus. Well, to be honest, there are days I feel really far. I stumble through this life like the rest of you. But I can say I’m closer because I’ve had to trust Him through difficult times, and found Him faithful time and time again.

I can attest to the truth of the verse previous: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Maybe He seems so near to me because I walk a path of brokenheartedness. If you’re there today, remember that. Revel in your brokenness because it’s the precise place Jesus comes near. (Click to tweet)

Learn how Jesus delivered Mary from many afflictions in her memoir Thin Places.