“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19 NKJ).
This verse is not declaring that you and I are going to suffer all our lives. There is no redemptive value in suffering; it entered the world as a result of sin not as a “cure” for it. Sin and suffering are two ominous figures that have dogged the footsteps of humanity ever since the fall of man. Jesus came to do away with sin and suffering.
Job’s suffering was labeled a “captivity” from which he was released by God (Job 42:10). The woman with a crooked, deformed back was pronounced by Jesus as one “whom Satan hath bound” (Luke 13:16). In Acts 10:38 we read how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil….
This word translated oppressed could also be rendered tyrannized. When the Bible describes afflictions as captivity, bondage, oppression, and tyranny, then we are safe in saying that suffering has no redemptive value.
In the Greek Old Testament (LXX), this word afflictions is thlipsis (thlip’-sis) which is defined as “pressure.”
Many are the pressure of the righteous. We are on an uphill journey, an obstacle course. Every turn in the road is a pressure point. The Lord delivers us out of them all and we manage to keep going.
Do not major on the pressure points of life; rather, major on deliverance. Negative people are always talking about their afflictions and pressures. Positive people of faith are always talking about their deliverances.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dick Mills was ordained at The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1949. He and his wife Betty traveled as evangelists all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Dick and Betty are now home in heaven.
In 1966 Dick and Betty became a part of the then-emerging Charismatic Renewal. Passing through all denominational barriers, Dick has had the opportunity to speak in thousands of churches of varied backgrounds all over the world.
He ministered within several Christian organizations, including the Full Gospel Business Men, Women's Aglow, Inter-church Renewal Catholic Pentecostals, mainline Charismatic groups, CBN and TBN television networks, and many other independent Christian TV stations.
Dick appeared on numerous radio talk shows, written several magazine articles, and spoke at many Bible conferences and universities. He served as an adjunct professor at six Schools of the Bible and Seminaries.
In addition, Dick authored and co-authored several books and tapes. Dick's ministry was characterized by the unique gifts God has blessed him with. His services informed, enlightened, and motivated people to a higher level of commitment to God.