This is my comfort in my affliction:
For thy word hath quickened me (Psa 119.50).

Everyone suffers, including, and we might say, especially Christians. The reason is that Christians must suffer all the common and ordinary trials which are our lot simply because we are human beings in a fallen world. Conversion does not usher you into a state of “health and wealth” beyond what you might have enjoyed as an unbeliever, despite the misguided assurances of modern false teachers. But beyond those universal troubles, real Christians should expect to enter the kingdom of God only through much tribulation (Acts 14.22). We alone can expect to be persecuted for Christ’s sake (John 15.19-20; 2 Tim 3.12). We alone know the agonies of partially-redeemed souls yearning for perfect sanctification and feeling plagued by our remaining sins (Rom 7.24). We are not denying the joys of the true Christian experience, nor the blessed hope of our salvation (Rom 7.25), but rather stressing the solid biblical teaching that followers of the crucified Lord Jesus are called to have fellowship with Him in His sufferings (Phil 1.29; 3.10).
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My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word (Psa 119.25).

One of the evidences satisfying to sincere Christians of Scripture’s divine inspiration is its “light and power . . . to comfort and build up believers unto salvation” (WLC #4). When rightly understood, the biblical portrayal of what it means in real life to know God in a saving way, and to commune with and serve Him matches exactly with the experience of its readers everywhere and at all times. We are born again with glowing anticipation of our new life with Christ, and then suffer terribly when our unrealistic expectations are not realized. This often drives us back to the Scriptures, and to our surprise, we find our own experiences are not strange, but very typical, even of the most eminent saints chronicled in the holy account.
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