In this world in which we live, the righteous faces various difficulties, but knows that the Lord God delivers him from all of them. God protects the bones of the righteous in such a way that not one bone is even broken.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all. (Psalm 34:19)

Why Do the Afflictions of the Righteous Exist?

It may even seem strange, but all afflictions have a purpose.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Nothing happens in our lives by chance; everything is under the grand control of God, and nothing escapes His purposes.

Everything that happens in a person’s life is within God’s purpose. When we speak of suffering, we are not talking only about something spiritual, but also about something that occurs in the physical world, things that affect our lives.

Have you ever stopped to think that losing a job is suffering? Because in the time we live in, this worker will certainly go through deprivations and difficulties.

But what we want to highlight is that all suffering has a purpose. And so that God can bless us, it is often necessary for the righteous to suffer some losses.

Going back to the example of this worker who lost his job, the door that God will open for him has infinitely more than the one he lost. Many times, to experience new things, it is necessary to let some old things go.

Biblical Examples of Afflictions and Deliverance

Job is an example of a righteous man who experienced suffering. Job lost all his wealth, his children, and his health, but Job did not abandon God at any moment.

Job understood that God had given wealth, children, family, and God had taken it away. And because of his loyalty and faithfulness to God, in the end, we see that the Lord restored everything in Job’s life!

The greatest difficulty that human beings face amid suffering is remaining in God. Remaining in God during times of abundance and happiness is easy, but remaining with God in times of suffering is only for those who truly love God with all their heart and trust Him entirely.

In the Bible, we have several examples of the righteous suffering. Moses was raised in the palace but suffered in the desert because he was participating in the process of liberating God’s people.

Joseph, for loving God and His precepts, also experienced the afflictions of the righteous because he chose not to lie with Potiphar’s wife and ended up unjustly imprisoned.

Understand that for Joseph to become governor of Egypt, there was a path, and this path involved experiencing the afflictions of the righteous. Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave, then thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit, and after some time of affliction, Joseph finally achieved his blessing, becoming governor of all Egypt.

Daniel prayed three times a day and also experienced the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivered him from the lions’ den.

Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10)

Our father in faith, Abraham, also experienced the afflictions of the righteous. When Abraham had to go to the mountain of sacrifice, walking to the place where Isaac would be sacrificed, Abraham experienced this moment of anguish and affliction.

Afflictions are moments we live through, but they have an end. We must understand that every moment of affliction is to lead us to the fulfillment of a purpose.

We must remain firm in God and ask Him to deliver us from these moments of affliction. God has His ears attentive to our cry, for the Lord says:

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

David was chosen by the Lord to be anointed king after God had rejected Saul as king over Israel. The Lord then commanded the prophet Samuel to fill a horn with oil and go to Bethlehem, where he was to find a man named Jesse. One of Jesse’s sons had already been chosen by God to be the next king.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. (1 Samuel 16:1)

Samuel was afraid for his life if Saul discovered what he was doing, he might kill him. So the Lord gave him a wise cover:

Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. (1 Samuel 16:2-3)

Samuel did exactly as the Lord commanded. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the town came out trembling to meet him, asking, “Comest thou peaceably?” He assured them he came in peace, sanctified Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice (1 Samuel 16:4-5).

When Appearance Deceives

One by one, Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel. The first was Eliab tall, strong, and impressive. Samuel immediately thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”

But God corrected him at once:

Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Abinadab passed. Then Shammah. Then the other four. None was chosen. Finally Samuel asked Jesse, “Are here all thy children?” Jesse replied, “There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.”

They sent for him. David was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. The moment he entered, the Lord said:

Arise, anoint him: for this is he. (1 Samuel 16:12)

Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers. From that day forward:

The Spirit of the Lord came upon David with power. (1 Samuel 16:13)

At the same time, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord began to trouble him (1 Samuel 16:14).

What God Sees That We Often Miss

The story of David’s anointing teaches us a profound truth: God does not choose as the world chooses. The world looks at résumés, height, beauty, and charisma. God looks at the heart.

David was not the oldest, the strongest, or the most obvious candidate. He was the youngest, the overlooked one, the boy left in the fields tending sheep while the “real candidates” were presented. Yet it was his heart full of faithfulness, courage, and genuine love for the Lord that God was looking for to lead His people.

May we learn, like Samuel, not to judge by outward appearance. And may we, like David, cultivate a heart after God’s own heart because that is where the Spirit of the Lord longs to dwell and work with power

Introduction: Isaiah’s Vision in the Year King Uzziah Died

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1 – NKJV)

This verse marks one of the most dramatic turning points in Judah’s history: the end of Uzziah’s long reign and the beginning of the prophetic ministry of Isaiah.

Who Was King Uzziah?

Uzziah (also called Azariah in some passages) was king of Judah from approximately 792 to 740 B.C. Son and successor of Amaziah, he ascended the throne at only 16 years of age and reigned in Jerusalem for an impressive 52 years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, and she was from Jerusalem.

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 26:1-3 – NKJV)

The name Uzziah means “The Lord is my strength” or “My strength is Yahweh” – a name that perfectly described the first half of his reign.

The Height of His Reign: Prosperity and Military Power

God helped the young king in an extraordinary way. Uzziah defeated the Philistines, the Arabs of Gur Baal, and the Meunites. The Ammonites paid him tribute, and his fame reached even to the border of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

He fortified Jerusalem with towers at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the angle of the wall. He built towers in the desert, dug many wells, and developed agriculture on the hills and plains because he loved the soil.

His army numbered 307,500 elite warriors, organized under 2,600 family heads. Uzziah equipped them with shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings. He even invented war machines designed by skillful men that could shoot arrows and large stones from the towers.

His fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped until he became strong. (2 Chronicles 26:15 – paraphrase)

The Fall: Pride That Led to Destruction

But when he became strong, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction.

Uzziah entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense – an act reserved exclusively for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16 – NKJV)

Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty valiant priests of the Lord, and stood up to the king:

It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God. (2 Chronicles 26:18 – NKJV)

Uzziah, holding the censer, became furious. While he raged against the priests before the incense altar, leprosy broke out on his forehead. The priests thrust him out quickly, and he himself hurried to leave because the Lord had struck him.

The Tragic End of the King

King Uzziah remained a leper until the day of his death. He lived in an isolated house, cut off from the house of the Lord. His son Jotham took charge of the palace and governed the people.

Thus King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. (2 Chronicles 26:21 – NKJV)

He was buried in a field near the royal tombs, for they said, “He is a leper.”

Lesson for Our Days

Uzziah began brilliantly: young, God-fearing, prosperous, victorious. But success went to his head. When he thought he could do anything – even what only priests were allowed to do – he fell.

The story of Uzziah teaches us an eternal and sobering truth: The more God blesses and exalts us, the more we must humble ourselves before Him. Pride always goes before destruction, especially when we are at the height of power.

May Uzziah’s example serve as a warning: God’s blessing always comes with the responsibility to remain humble and obedient to the end.

Hannah is one of the most inspiring women in the Holy Bible. She appears in the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament as the wife of Elkanah and the mother of Samuel, the great prophet and judge of Israel. Her story is a powerful testimony of how persistent prayer, poured out from a broken heart, can move the hand of God.

The Meaning of the Name Hannah

The name Hannah (from the Hebrew חַנָּה, Channah) means “grace” or “full of grace.” This meaning foreshadows her story: a woman who, even in the midst of deep pain, received abundant grace from the Lord.

The Pain of Barrenness and Peninnah’s Provocation

Hannah was deeply loved by Elkanah, but she was barren. Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, had many sons and daughters and constantly used this to provoke and humiliate Hannah.

“And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.” (1 Samuel 1:6, NKJV)

Even though Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion during the sacrifices – a clear sign of his special love – she lived in anguish. The Bible says she wept bitterly and could hardly eat.

Trying to comfort her, Elkanah tenderly asked:

“Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8, NKJV)

The Prayer That Changed Everything

During one of the family’s annual journeys to Shiloh, where the tabernacle stood, Hannah could bear it no longer. She went to the door of the tabernacle and prayed with such intensity that only her lips moved. Eli the priest thought she was drunk.

Hannah answered with dignity:

“No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:15, NKJV)

Eli blessed her:

“Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” (1 Samuel 1:17, NKJV)

From that moment on, Scripture says, “her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18).

The Birth of Samuel and the Fulfillment of the Vow

“So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:20, NKJV)

As soon as Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him to the tabernacle and presented him to Eli, fulfilling the vow she had made: to dedicate the boy completely to the Lord’s service.

Hannah’s Song of Praise – One of the Most Beautiful in Scripture

After giving Samuel to the Lord, Hannah did not remain sorrowful. Instead, she burst into a magnificent song of victory that centuries later would echo in Mary’s Magnificat:

“And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:1-2, NKJV)

And the miracle did not stop there: after Samuel, the Lord gave Hannah three more sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:21).

Hannah’s Legacy

It was Samuel, the child born of Hannah’s prayer, who anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel. And it was from the lineage of David that Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, was born.

Hannah’s story teaches us that:

• God hears the prayer offered with faith and tears;
• He is able to reverse the impossible;
• When we surrender our deepest desire into His hands, He gives us far more than we asked.

Hannah went from being a humiliated and broken woman to the mother of one of the greatest prophets in history and an ancestor in the line of the Messiah. A true story of grace.

The Meaning of the Name Nicodemus

The name Nicodemus means “victor of the people” or “conqueror of the people.” He first appears in the Bible in the Gospel of John, chapter 3.

Who Was Nicodemus?

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. (John 3:1, NKJV)

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish council, making him one of the most prominent religious leaders in Israel.

The Secret Nighttime Meeting

Drawn by the reports of Jesus’ miracles, Nicodemus sought Him out. To avoid the judgment of his colleagues, he came at night and in secret.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2, NKJV)

Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus’ miracles proved He had been sent by God.

The Great Revelation: You Must Be Born Again

Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NKJV)

Confused, Nicodemus asked:

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4, NKJV)

Jesus clarified:

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8, NKJV)

Still puzzled, Nicodemus asked, “How can these things be?” Jesus gently rebuked him:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (John 3:10, NKJV)

Nicodemus’ difficulty was not intellectual; it was spiritual. He understood earthly things but struggled to grasp heavenly truths.

The Bronze Serpent and the Cross

Jesus then revealed the way of salvation:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15, NKJV)

Just as the Israelites bitten by snakes needed only to look at the bronze serpent raised on a pole to live (Numbers 21), we need only to look to Jesus lifted on the cross in faith to receive eternal life.

Did Nicodemus Believe?

Scripture does not explicitly say Nicodemus was converted that night, but later events strongly suggest he was:

1. He defended Jesus in the Sanhedrin

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” (John 7:50-51, NKJV)

2. After the crucifixion, he helped bury Jesus

And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. (John 19:39-40, NKJV)

Nicodemus went from a curious nighttime visitor to someone who risked his reputation and spent a fortune on costly spices to honor the body of the Lord — clear evidence of genuine faith.

Conclusion

The story of Nicodemus teaches us that religious knowledge alone is not enough. Without being born again by the Holy Spirit, no one can enter the kingdom of God. Jesus still asks each of us today: “Have you been born again?”

May the Lord open our spiritual eyes as He did for Nicodemus, so that we look to the cross and live!

May God richly bless you and cause you to grow daily in faith, grace, and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!

What a joy that you want to accept Jesus as your one and only sufficient Savior! The Bible is clear: it is only through Christ Jesus that we can reach heaven.

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Accepting Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior means stopping being just a creature and becoming a true child of God. It means choosing to walk in the light, because before we were in darkness, without God and without salvation. Jesus Himself said:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus is promising that everyone who chooses to follow Him will always walk in the light.

Accepting Jesus begins with a desire that is born deep in the heart—perhaps through a word, a message, or an invitation to church. Suddenly a passion for the Lord Jesus is ignited, and we want to live with Him every single day.

That desire is born because Jesus Himself is gently knocking at the door of your heart every day:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus will never force His way into your heart or your thoughts. He eagerly waits for the moment you freely choose, by your own will, to serve and love Him.

The promise of salvation is not limited only to the person who accepts Jesus—it extends to your entire household:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)

It doesn’t matter how great your sins are or what you have done until this moment. What matters is what happens from now on. When we confess that we are sinners and bring our sins to Jesus, He is faithful and just to forgive us:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

And the Word still declares:

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)

Simple prayer to accept Jesus right now

If this desire is in your heart, pray this prayer with me in faith:

“Lord Jesus Christ, I come into Your most holy presence. You are King of kings and Lord of everything. I recognize that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I ask You to forgive all my sins. Write my name in Your Book of Life and never blot it out. Come live in my heart. Today I surrender my entire life to You—nothing is mine anymore, everything is Yours. I accept You as my one and only sufficient Savior. Amen!”

If you prayed this prayer with a sincere heart—congratulations! You have just been born again!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Important next steps

1. Find a Bible-believing church near you as soon as possible and start worshiping God.
2. Tell someone what just happened in your life.
3. Begin reading the Bible every day (start with the Gospel of John).
4. Pray every day, talking to God like a loving Father.

May the Lord pour out blessings from heaven upon you and your entire family. May His grace, peace, and power accompany every step of your new journey with Christ!