Affliction can be an accelerant which refines you to bless others in your future with greater integrity, wisdom or power.

Let’s unpack that sentence a few ideas at a time. 

First, affliction. It’s one of those things that isn’t nice, but can serve a greater purpose over the long haul. Consider what God’s people were told in Isaiah 48:10: “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.” One of the results is that they live in faithfulness and glorify God.

Second, affliction can be an accelerant. An accelerant speeds something up. I remember a neighbour who was having trouble starting a campfire, so he doused it with gasoline. Pouf! That certainly sped up the process.

Third, affliction can be an accelerant which refines you. I’m not saying this is necessarily the case with all affliction, but it certainty is the case for some. 

Fourth, the refining process isn’t an end in itself. It is so that we become more like Christ and bless others.

Picture a future chapter of your life. Picture also a future version of you that has more integrity, more wisdom, and greater strength. What if some of your current afflictions—as difficult as they may be—could be understood as a refining process? 

This devotional goes out to a variety of different people with different backgrounds and experiences. So just keep in mind that I’m speaking in broad strokes. But there are times when looking at our challenges from a new perspective—a more constructive perspective—can be helpful in the journey of faith. 

Affliction can be an accelerant which refines you to bless others in your future with greater integrity, wisdom or power.

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Notes:

-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and resumes on May 18, 2026.
-Bible quotes are from the ESV.