Afflicted
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:71
Rolf had contracted Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome from a blood transfusion he’d received in the early eighties, before the CDC began testing for the AIDS virus. He’d lived independently for quite a long time, but recent increased severity in his symptoms had forced Rolf to give up the freedom he cherished and move into a nursing facility. He was a straight-talking kinda guy, used to saying what was on his mind; today he was saying he didn’t like this confounded nursing home he was confined to! His caseworker, Kari, had taken an instant liking to him.
During the intake, she’d asked Rolf how he’d contracted AIDS. He’d told her he’d gotten the virus through a transfusion he received during a surgery in 1982. Unaware the blood was contaminated, the virus had been discovered through a blood test in 1997 when Rolf had had an extended bronchial infection.
He told Kari he’d spent the first year angry at the world. Then someone had given him a Bible, and he’d begun reading it. He confided to Kari that had it not been for the AIDS virus, he might never have found Jesus Christ. Reaching over to his nightstand, Rolf grabbed that very Bible and, looking directly into Kari’s eyes, said, “I want you to have this. Read it and ask God to show you what it means. I promise you He will.”
She did, and He had. Kari cried tears of joy and sorrow at Rolf’s funeral, thankful God had sent him to show her the way to Jesus.
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Affliction can be devastating. But it can also be life changing. When we’ve been brought to the end of our own strength, we must learn to rely on someone greater than ourselves, as in Rolf’s case, God.
In truth, we are all afflicted. Every one of us has a deadly disease that we cannot cure ourselves: sin. And only God can take away this affliction and that can only happen once we discover our need and ask for healing. Have you asked God to heal your affliction?
Prayer
“Lord, set me free from the affliction of sin. Remove all vestiges of it from my life by the blood of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”
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