Preparing for Affliction

“Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.”
Psalm 119: 92,93

I was alone sitting up in my bed late one night in May of ’95. My heart was quite heavy that night because my second son, a newborn infant, was struggling for life in the hospital. The room was darkened and silent. I can’t remember where Carolyn was at that time, but I’m certain she was praying for our Timothy just like me. We’d been caught up in this mental, emotional, and spiritual combat for nearly a month, not knowing when or if God would bring our child to health. 

During this time, Carolyn and I were never far apart. We didn’t talk a lot, but we prayed constantly. It seemed that our common prayers strengthened our bond even more. In the early morning hour, as I drove to work to make roll call, I needed to express my faith, my hope, and my trust in God, so in tears and a choking voice, I struggled to sing the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” 

I arrived to roll call, and while being briefed, a desk officer called me to the phone; it was Carolyn. In the softest and most quiet voice, she told me, “Wayne, Timothy died.” I said, “o.k.” I hung up the phone and began to weep. That was the most challenging time for Carolyn and my marriage. Even now, as I tell of this moment, I feel a twinge of pain.

Here is my reason for telling this story. You see, Carolyn and I could have become very despondent and withdrawn from people and God. Satan even tried to cause us to distrust God, to doubt His love for us, but the thing that brought Carolyn and me through was the Word of God that was and is hidden in our hearts. As David says in Psalm 119:92, “Unless Your law had been my delight,” we wouldn’t have stood a chance! She and I would have “perished in our affliction.” Carolyn and I had long before determined to live by His Word. We didn’t and haven’t always lived it out perfectly, but that’s our aim nonetheless. So in our crisis of faith, we didn’t “forget His precepts,” and it was by those very precepts or truths God sustained us. He still does to this very day.

I encourage all my brothers and sisters in the faith to delight in God’s word and don’t forget them. They’ll preserve you, and they’ll sustain your life. So get into His word and remain there.

The WORDview Quiet Time method is an excellent tool to build God's word into your life in a way that will prepare you for life's afflictions and challenges. Find out more here.

Doyle Davis

Doyle Davis is a Guest Blogger for WORDview Ministries. He retired after 21 years of service as an officer with the Houston Police Department. He attended Texas Southern University and the College of Biblical Studies. He is a Preacher/Teacher and has been a church planter. He has been married for 44 years and has ten children: (3) biological and (7) adopted. He currently attends Pine Forrest Baptist church in Livingston, Texas.