When Affliction Feels Unfair – Wrestling with the ‘Why’
Have you ever found yourself crying out, “Why me, Lord?”
I mean we try not to question God but sometimes when the rubber meets the road, we have to exercise the greatest will power we know to stay focused.
And when you really check it out, the deepest pain in life is not just the affliction itself, but the lack of a clear reason for it. When we suffer without explanation—when there’s no sin to confess, no warning we ignored—it can feel like the heavens are silent and justice is delayed.
Anybody been there?
Today we delve into Scriptures that show - Suffering brought on by spiritual warfare and satanic oppression is that not all suffering is the result of wrongdoing. We heard that yesterday as we learnt about the different types of affliction. We learnt that there is demonic affliction, empathetic affliction - feeling the pain of others out of love and connection, testimonial affliction - pain that serves to proclaim the gospel and encourage others, and providential affliction - suffering that fits into God’s sovereign and redemptive plan.
So we see that some pain serves a higher purpose.
Take Job, for instance. Job 1:8–12 (ESV) records a stunning heavenly conversation:
“And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man…?’ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? … But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand…’”
Job didn’t suffer because he did something wrong—he suffered because he was doing everything right. His affliction was not punishment—it was part of a divine plan to showcase unwavering faith. Job’s life became a battlefield where spiritual truths were being proven, even though he didn’t see the whole picture.
Another example is the man born blind.
The story is told in John 9:1–3 (NKJV): “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’”
Here again, we find affliction without fault. This man’s blindness wasn’t due to his sin or his parents’. It was a setup for God’s glory to be revealed. What others saw as a curse, God saw as a canvas for a miracle.
Still, when you’re the one suffering, spiritual insights can feel far away. Jeremiah, known as the “weeping prophet,” understood this well. He obeyed God fully, spoke truth boldly, and lived righteously—yet his life was marked by rejection, imprisonment, and heartbreak.
Listen to his cry in Jeremiah 20:7–9 (NLT): “O Lord, you misled me… Now I am mocked every day… But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord… His word burns in my heart like a fire… I can’t do it!”
Jeremiah was faithful, but still suffered intensely. He was thrown into a pit (Jeremiah 38:6), mocked, and isolated. Yet he never gave up hope.
In Lamentations 3:21–23 (ESV), he declared: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases… They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Then there’s Mephibosheth, a lesser-known figure whose life was marked by unearned suffering.
In 2 Samuel 4:4 (NIV), we’re told: “Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came… His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled.”
Mephibosheth did nothing wrong—he was a child caught in the chaos of tragedy.
Dropped in panic, he lived with permanent disability and was exiled to a place called Lo Debar, meaning “no pasture.” Yet years later, King David sought him out.
In 2 Samuel 9:7–8 (NKJV), David says: “‘Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake… you shall eat bread at my table continually.’ Then he bowed… and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?’”
What a picture of grace and restoration. Though broken by circumstance, Mephibosheth was not forgotten by God. His story moved from exile to honour.
So what do these stories teach us when affliction feels unfair? They remind us that suffering is not always punishment—it can be preparation. Affliction may come because you’re doing something right, not wrong. God may be using our pain as a platform for His power.
Romans 8:28 (NIV) offers this reassurance: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Not all things are good, but God works in all things.
So our suffering is not wasted. It’s not invisible. God sees it, and He is weaving it into a greater plan—one of restoration, testimony, and ultimately, anointing.
Family, when there’s no clear reason for the pain, lean into the truth that God still has a purpose. Even in silence, He is not absent. Even in affliction, He is preparing us for glory. Hallelujah.
Like Job, like the blind man, like Jeremiah, like Mephibosheth—your story, my story, may be shaped by pain, but it will not end there. Glory to God.
The encouragement today is for us to trust the Author. He’s not finished writing. Ahmennn.
aub - 13May25
https://www.youtube.com/live/8-NedJEn7DQ?si=UW-ycR4XeP5eEM6e
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