The psalmist once said, “It is good that I have been afflicted…” What did he mean by that? Is it good to pass through afflictions?
Certainly, the human being was not created to suffer, but due to imperfection, we all harbor bad characteristics, and when we go through difficult situations, injustices, and other situations that cause pain, we can identify these characteristics and correct them.
Think of popcorn corn; it has a hard husk, but when it goes through the fire, a transformation happens. At a certain point, the pressure bursts the outer husk, turning the corn kernel into popcorn.
Bad traits are like hard corn husks, and when we go through afflictions or fire, those traits are evident, and we have the opportunity to fight them and even eliminate them. In other words, difficulties can make us better people.
But not all corn kernels, when passing through the fire, burst their hard husks; on the contrary, they get even harder.
Likewise, some people, when going through afflictions, continue with a hard heart, do not recognize their undesirable characteristics, and do not strive to become better people, developing qualities that can make us more reasonable people, such as humility, self-control, and forgiveness.
What kind of popcorn would you like to be, which pops or which hardens?
Difficulties allow us to demonstrate our trust in Jehovah, to pray to him more seriously, to be more diligent in studying the Bible and applying what it says. In addition, how we respond to distress may reveal personality flaws, allowing us to correct them.
Remember, suffering will not make us bitter if we allow it to refine us.
Proverbs 20:30 says:
“Bruises and wounds purge away evil, and beatings cleanse one’s innermost being.”
