Will the Afflicted Ever Have Peace?

WOULD you like to see an end to suffering, not only for yourself but for all mankind? Consider these examples:

Sonia has had more than her share of affliction.a First, she discovered that her husband had been having an adulterous affair for ten years. Then her youngest son became infected with HIV and died of AIDS. Two years later her other son became ill, and soon he too died of AIDS. “The final phase of his disease lasted so long,” Sonia recalls. “He suffered intense depression, lost his hair, and could not see well. It was very sad.”

Fabiana, a Brazilian university student, was concerned about the world’s social injustices. Then tragedy struck her own life. Her brother, suffering from depression, committed suicide. When Fabiana lost her job, a friend suggested that she seek a pai-de-santo (witch doctor), reasoning that for Fabiana to suffer such misfortune someone must have cast a spell on her! But the pai-de-santo brought no relief. Instead, Fabiana felt tormented, unable to sleep because of her adversities.

Ana’s affliction began much earlier in life. “When I was one year old,” she relates, “my mother abandoned me, so I was taken in by my grandmother.” Then, when Ana was only three years old, her grandmother died. Ana was sent to an orphanage in Rio de Janeiro, where she remained until she was 13. “We were treated very badly there, and I became rebellious,” she says. “As I grew up, I fought against just about everything.”

Affliction seems to touch the life of every human in one way or another. Indeed, we encounter stories of human tragedy on a daily basis—whenever we watch, read, or listen to the news. “Not until our . . . era of mass communication did it become practically impossible to escape constant bombardment by bad news,” writes Dr. Mary Sykes Wylie. “Wars, natural disasters, industrial catastrophes, highway carnage, crime, terrorism, sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence—all make trauma a horrible and daily leitmotif of the 20th century.” The Christian apostle Paul realistically summed up the human experience: “All creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain.”—Romans 8:22.

What about you? Are you experiencing affliction? What relief can you expect? Will you ever attain true peace? Sonia, Fabiana, and Ana found genuine comfort and a real measure of peace! You can read about it in the following article.

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