Have you ever watched someone go through a really trying time in their life and your heart just grieved heavily for them? You wanted to reach out and just hug them and console them. You wanted to send them something (flowers, food, a gift) just to show how much you hurt for them and were thinking about them. You were truly hurting because they were hurting. Could you say that in their affliction you were also afflicted? That would be an amazing depth of that love!
Did you know that your Father in heaven has that depth of love for you? He did for the children of Israel. Through all the trials and troubles that they went through, Isaiah said, “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isa. 63:9). Think about that for a moment. Is that the picture that you have of your God? It’s certainly not the picture that many folks have of God (especially, as they will call Him, “the wrathful God of the Old Testament”). But that is YOUR GOD!
Remember—in ALL your affliction, He is afflicted! Take a minute and read Hebrews 4:14-16.