The Smell of Affliction

 There are some pastors who preach with a depth foreign to others. There are some authors that write with authority and a freshness that others cannot grasp. There are Christians who commune with Christ at a level of intimacy few others enjoy. One of the things that makes the difference in these people is the smell of affliction. To put that another way they have suffered. Their faith has been forged in the fires of adversity. They smell of affliction. 

Apostle Paul suffered. The smell of those afflictions permeate his epistles. Charles Spurgeon suffered from gout. This fueled his preaching and writing to appeal to the masses. George Mueller suffered trials of faith one after the other. This smell of affliction moved many to support his mission to the orphans. Martin Luther spent time locked away in a castle for his protection. The smell of affliction opened the Bible and fueled his future preaching and writings. 

You run across such people all the time. They sit in the pews. They have a maturity about them. They are stable. They know how to endure every season of life. Nothing ruffles them. Their faith is strong. Their joy unshakable. Their hope is anchored. They have the smell of affliction about them. I talked to a lady today who lost one of her daughters as a teenager. Not long after that her husband died of cancer. She has suffered much. She has ailing health today. She is still strong in the faith. I think about a tough prayer warrior who grew up Catholic. She came to saving faith in Christ by her own study. She raised her sons to be men of God. She is tough. Witty. No nonsense. Faithful. She is strong in the faith. Get close to her and you smell affliction. I recall a young mother who lost her daughter as a child. She is strong in the faith. Her father died tragically. She maintained a steady walk with God. Her mother is dying. She is still unwavering in her resolve to follow Jesus. I smell affliction on her. 

Many years ago a businessman approached me after a service. He told me that God had used me to help him through the toughest season of his life through the sermons I preached over the past six months. I could not have been more surprised. I preached those sermons to myself. I was trying to survive the worst season of my life. Each week I preached what God used to help me. God preached to me in my adversity before I ever shared it with the congregation. What that man did not know is that those sermons were used by God because they had the smell of affliction about them. 

After all these years, I have learned a few things. All people suffer at some point. Everybody is going through something. Some just hide it better than others. It is the testimonies of those who have survived seasons of suffering that have helped me the most. The most inspiring people are those who have gone through the furnace of affliction and still have the smell of smoke on them. 

I have also learned that God uses suffering. Suffering does not mean He does not love us. The more I read the Bible, the more I see how God wove affliction into the lives and purposes of His chosen servants. The smell of affliction makes Joseph, Moses, David, and Paul compelling to us. Even our blessed Master Jesus suffered. He identifies with us. I have seen God use suffering in people to bring about good in others. 

I know that afflictions do not last forever for true believers. Even if we face terminal illness, that is only temporary compared to eternity with Jesus. We do well to keep our eyes on our ultimate destination. All this affliction is temporary. I am thankful how God uses it. Don't be surprised the next time you are moved deeply by a song when you discover the writer and singer smell a little like affliction. May we mature to the point where we actually thank God for the smell of affliction.