JUPITER, FLORIDA – It is guaranteed in this life that we will all face affliction and sorrow of some kind. Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, “…In the world you will have tribulation…” (BSB). But He added quickly after that, “But take courage; I have overcome the world!” (BSB). For the unbeliever without the Spirit of Christ living within them, dealing with the tribulations of this world can seem almost impossible sometimes. However, for the Christian, though we may not escape the sorrows of this life, we do have solid ground to stand on – the word of the living God Himself.

On Sunday, February 9, 2025 my church was reminded of this through an excellent sermon highlighting several key passages of Psalm 119. Our speaker for the morning was Lance Quinn, a member of our pastoral team and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Expositor’s Seminary. Quinn is no stranger to affliction having lost his wife to cancer and nine other family members in a relatively short space of time. Having heard his story from the pulpit and yet still seeing his deep love for the Lord, it would not be a surprise to hear him echoing the words of Job, “…The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21 BSB).

In his sermon he used an acrostic of the word A.F.F.L.I.C.T.I.O.N. based on Psalm 119. What follows are my notes and later studies based on Pastor Quinn’s sermon (all credit for the acrostic goes to him), a message I pray will have a lasting impact on all who heard it, especially those in the midst of suffering.

A (Psalm 119:25) – Awaken my soul according to the word of the Lord.

Psalm 119:25 states, “My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word” (BSB). As I read these words, I can’t help but imagine a man on the ground, his face in the dirt, in agony at the least – if not already well on the way to death. Nevertheless, he cries out for the one thing that can sustain and revive him – the word of God Himself. When sorrow and affliction come to our lives, the very first place we must go is to our Bibles.

F (Psalm 119:28) – Fortify my strength according to God’s word.

Just three verses later in Psalm 119 we read, “My soul melts with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word.” As Pastor Quinn shared, once the word has made you alive, it must strengthen you every day. The word melts stuck out particularly to me. Living in Florida, I am no stranger to heat, and an ice cube out in the blazing sun has no chance of survival here. In the same way, a soul under the pressure of affliction will quickly be crushed without the fortifying power of the word of God. Other versions translate the word melts as weeps. John MacArthur notes in his commentary that this weeping is possibly due to “…sorrow over sin” (p. 738). Sin is certain to bring about affliction, but whatever the reason for the sorrow, the prescription is clear – hold fast to the Bible.

F (Psalm 119:50) – Fix my comfort on God’s promised word.

Everyone in affliction desires comfort. Though the Lord has His purposes for afflictions, no one desires to stay in them forever. We desire comfort, and the word provides it. As it is written in Psalm 119:50, “This is my comfort in affliction, that Your promise [word] has given me life” (BSB). Perhaps one of the greatest comforts we have in scripture comes from the Apostle Paul who wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison” (BSB). If the deep sorrows and agonies of the Christian are accounted by heaven as light, how much more amazing must that “eternal weight of glory” be for the one who has fixed their hope on Him. It is not for nothing that Hebrews 12:2 admonishes us saying, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” If Christ would endure the horrors of the cross – the very wrath of God poured out on Him for the sins of the world – for the joy set before Him, how exceedingly great must that joy be! Take comfort in this, friends, even as you face great sorrow.

L (Psalm 119:67) – Learn how affliction produces my obedience.

Psalm 119:67 addresses the issue of obedience saying, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word” (BSB). The author of Psalm 119 is unknown, though David, Daniel, or Ezra have been suggested (MacArthur 737). Each of these men would have known well how affliction hems one in from sin. David had multiple failings noted in scripture for which he suffered greatly. After his sin with Bathsheba was exposed, he prayed in Psalm 51, “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities” (BSB). David surely learned obedience because of the suffering disobedience caused him.

As for Daniel and Ezra, at least that I am aware of, scripture does not highlight any of their personal sins. However, both pray for their own sins and the sins of their people. Daniel prayed in 9:5 of his book, “…we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances” (BSB). Both Daniel and Ezra were men of the Babylonian captivity. They had lost their homeland and seen the horrors that disobedience to God brings about. Though Ezra would return to Israel (See Ezra 7), Daniel never did. Nevertheless, Daniel remained obedient even in the most extreme circumstances because he had learned well from God’s word.

I (Psalm 119:71) – Incline my heart to see the benefits of affliction.

People are usually all about what benefits them, but this point from Pastor Quinn’s sermon no doubt caused some to take offense, or at least to do a double take. After all, what person in their right mind would ever consider affliction a benefit? Nevertheless, if we are to trust scripture, we must heed the words of Psalm 119:71, “It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.” The greatest benefit of affliction being that we get to know the Lord and His word better. Additionally, when we suffer with a godly attitude we become more like Christ. As it is written, “And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17 BSB). If Christ suffered affliction, so must we – and in so doing we gain the greatest benefit of all – being conformed to the image of God’s Son.

C (Psalm 119:75) – Commend God’s Faithfulness in afflicting me.

A simple truth for the Christian to learn is that the Lord only does what is right. Psalm 119:75 says, “I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me” (BSB). If the Lord brings affliction into our lives, it is for our ultimate good. He can be trusted. Just look back on how the Lord has been faithful in the trials you have already faced. Did He ever fail you? Did He ever fail to teach you something or bring some good out the situation? I would bet money the answer to both questions is no.

T (Psalm 119:92) – Take delight in God’s law during affliction.

The author of Psalm 119 encourages us with his own story in verse 92 saying, “If Your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction” (BSB). I cannot imagine facing the trials of this life without the hope the Lord provides us in His word. Consider perhaps the greatest affliction of life – losing a loved one. The unbeliever grieves with no hope. They have no chance of any further fellowship with that loved one ever again. They are gone, utterly lost to them. The believer, on the other hand, knows that the death of a believing loved one is only a brief parting. Indeed, the days of fellowship we have with them ahead and far greater than those behind. For we know that if “…we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep [died] in Him” (1 Thess. 4:14 BSB). What great delight it gives to believers to know we will see our believing loved ones again. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of the delight scripture promises to those who trust God’s word.

As I noted with this scripture earlier, there is no greater example than our Savior, “… who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 BSB). But what exactly was this joy set before Christ in His affliction? No doubt our Lord saw it with with better eyes than we. Nevertheless, scripture does tell us that:

“After the anguish of His soul,
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,
and He will divide the spoils with the strong,
because He has poured out His life unto death,
and He was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet He bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:11-12 BSB).

The delight Christ saw in His affliction, and that which was promised to Him in the very word of God was our salvation! Christ suffered the greatest in this world and still took delight in the promises of God. Can we not do the same in the midst of our much smaller afflictions?

I (Psalm 119:107) – Invigorate my life with scripture.

For the last I in affliction, Pastor Quinn used the word invigorate in his acrostic. This word means simply to give strength or energy to someone (Dictionary.com). Psalm 119:107 states, “I am severely afflicted, O LORD; revive me through Your word” (BSB). From personal experience, I know that if I am away from the word for a while, there is a sense of weakness (especially in regard to fighting sin), but when I return to the word in deep study, I truly feel revived – as if being given a drink of cold water after having crossed a hot and lonely desert. Jesus Himself, in the midst of the affliction of His temptation in the wilderness, said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 BSB). After 40 days with no food, He would have been well past the end of human strength – yet His trust for His very life was the word of God. Affliction will weaken us. It may even break us, but we can trust in the promises of God to make us alive again.

O (Psalm 119:143) – Observe God’s command in my worst affliction.

Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 BSB). However, there is perhaps no greater time in our lives when disobedience becomes more tempting than when we are in the midst of suffering and we believe sin will ease the trial. However, sin never eases anything – it only leaves more sorrow in its wake. Psalm 119:143 says, “Trouble and distress have found me, but Your commandments are my delight” (BSB). When we face trial, even when sin would seem the easy way out, we must obey the word. We must take delight in God’s every command. He will always prove faithful to teach us and ultimately deliver us from our trial.

N (Psalm 119:153) – Never forget God’s ability to deliver me from my affliction.

Which brings me to Pastor Quinn’s final point in his sermon, an admonishment to never forget God’s efficacy in delivering us from affliction. Psalm 119:153 states, “Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten Your law” (BSB). Every affliction is an invitation to look to the word of God and to look back on God’s faithfulness in delivering us from past trials. When we do this, we receive courage and strength to press forward in our present affliction. We know that God will never abandon us in the midst of our sorrow. As Isaiah 43:1-2 promises,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you go through the rivers,
they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be scorched;
the flames will not set you ablaze” (BSB).

The greatest comfort in all affliction is the knowledge that Christ is with us through it all. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us (see Joshua 1:5). Knowing that, we can weather any storm this life throws at us.

I am always deeply encouraged by the sermons of Pastor Quinn. He is certainly a man of uncommon faith, who continues to trust in Christ, despite having endured much sorrow. I intend to hold fast to the lessons learned from this sermon for a long time to come.

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