Many Afflictions of the Righteous and Sorrows of the Wicked

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

I believe a big reason the righteous are often afflicted is to teach us to live by faith and not by sight. The troubles we experience seem to contradict God’s promises to us. But this builds endurance in our faith which ultimately makes us mature (James 1: 3, 4).

This is the goal of our faith.

Another reason is to make a distinction between the believer and unbeliever, the righteous and unrighteous.

To read the whole psalm for context, click here.

Many Afflictions of the Righteous but The Wicked Have no Deliverer

This distinction does not lie in a lack of troubles. In fact, the righteous experience the same trials that the wicked do. This is seen in the parable of the two foundations. The distinction or difference lies in the outcome (Mathew 7: 24-27).

I believe this is one way God glorifies Himself in the life of the believer. Not in keeping us from trouble, but in delivering us out of it.

The righteous are delivered from their troubles while the troubles of the wicked become sorrows because they have no Deliverer (Psalm 32: 10). As the old saying goes, all’s well that ends well.

It’s Possible to be a Christian and Not be Righteous

But it’s important to note that it’s possible to be a Christian and not be righteous in certain areas. And if we have sin in our lives we are not dealing with, we can’t expect to claim this promise. Storms occur in the atmosphere when warm air collides with cold. But God is merciful.

God in His kindness delivered my son Sam from his cancer relapse, brush with death in the PICU and the bone marrow transplant. To read this harrowing ordeal, click here.

What’s really amazing about this is although I was basically going in the right direction, I had some huge sin issues I wasn’t dealing with. And Sam’s dad wasn’t walking with the Lord at all anymore.

I had an out-of-control tongue and temper that I had given up on trying to tame. I had actually come to the conclusion that my 16-year-old oldest son deserved to be berated because of his rebellion and disrespect.

Many Afflictions of the Righteous but God Loves to Show Mercy

So, despite the fact that in some ways I was unrighteous, and Sam’s dad had given up the fight, God still had mercy on us and delivered us from our trouble. Not that we escaped unscathed though. That second round of chemo and the BMT did take a toll on Sam physically.

He now has chronic health problems because of the treatment for the disease. but praise God, he’s not dead! I’m not sure about Sam’s dad, but even though I had sin issues that I passively co-existed with, I did have a good heart.

For about a year and a half prior to Sam’s relapse my constant prayer was “let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven” Mathew 5: 16.

One way He answered that prayer was by delivering us of Sam’s death sentence. We certainly would not have escaped if we didn’t have a Deliverer. And it was a great testimony to all the doctors and nurses involved in his care. They understood better than anyone what a miracle his survival was.

It was also a beautiful expression of God’s mercy to the rest of the family, friends, neighbors and Sam’s 7th grade class.

The Red Sea: Salvation and Destruction at the Same Time

The Red Sea is a good biblical example of this principle. The same sea that brought destruction on the Egyptians when they were pursuing the Israelites was Israel’s salvation. It was the sea that provided a path for them to escape Egypt…and their pursuers (Exodus 14: 21-31).

The waters of the flood are another example. The same flood waters that destroyed the wicked were the source of salvation for Noah and his family. God used the water that drowned the wicked to keep Noah afloat- above the affliction (Genesis 7: 17-24).

Both the righteous and the wicked went through the Red Sea. Both the righteous and the wicked endured the flood waters. They both could say “we went through the sea on dry ground”. And both could say “we experienced the flood”.

But only the righteous could say “we are delivered!”

To read another post related to Many Afflictions of the Righteous and Sorrow of the Wicked, see Manasseh: How Judgment Leads to Mercy Then and Now.