I know O Lord, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. Psalm 119.

God will use anything that was mean to hurt you for your good, even your affliction. The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and the storm and clouds are the dust of his feet. When we are afflicted, many times we become rebellious rather than drawing closer to God, but many of us find God in the midst of our afflictions. I have learned to say, “Thank you Lord,” in my afflictions, I talk to him more, I am on knees more, I meditate on his word more because I know that the enemy does not attack those he already has, he attacks those who belong to God. If we remain faithful to God in the midst of our afflictions, he will be faithful to us and deliver us through whirlwinds and storms, and we will give him all the glory and praise and will come to understand that if it was not for the affliction that we would have strayed farther from God. Let us learn to praise God in the midst of trouble and affliction knowing that he is very present and will deliver us.