Afflicted, but Thankful
By Anthony Casperson
12-20-25

In the Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, viewers enter the story with a slow and somber song playing. The tone fits the mood of the title character during Christmas. Charlie Brown admits he’s feeling depressed. He seems to be out of step with the rest of the people around him, who are cheerfully celebrating the holiday.

Throughout the runtime, different people offer solutions. However, every one of the various options in front of him doesn’t really help.

Linus suggests that Charlie Brown seek psychiatric help, but Lucy’s more interested in offering her “diagnoses” than actually listening to Charlie’s problem.

Then, Lucy suggests that he do something productive, like direct the Christmas play. Yet all that the other children do is complain about him and then refuse to listen to his direction.

After this, Charlie Brown goes to find a Christmas tree for the play. And although he finds a sickly tree that represents his feelings during the holiday—which he admits just needs a little bit of love—the children deride the tree just as much as they do Charlie Brown.

With the failure of everybody’s suggestions about how to deal with his depressive mood, Charlie Brown has had enough. And frustrated, he asks what Christmas is really all about.

This is when Linus famously gets his most theological moment of explanation. He speaks the truth of God into the situation. And reminds everyone of “the good news of great joy that will be for all people.”

It’s only after this revelation of God’s good news that there’s reason to rejoice. Only after Charlie Brown still leaves—with the tree in tow, and fails to decorate it—that the rest of the children show the tree the love of the season. Then, Charlie returns, witnessing the miracle that had turned a sickly tree into an object of the season’s beauty.

That’s when the truth of Linus’s words finally sink into Charlie Brown’s mind and allows him to join in with the song of the rest of the children.

People’s suggestions may fail, but the truth of God can reveal the reason to praise.

Notice, that Charlie Brown never actually ceases to feel depressed. But, after the truth has been revealed, he can join the others in song. Depressed, but still singing.

Afflicted, but thankful.

This is the where we come into the story of the psalmist for our final psalm of the series, Psalm 116. This story begins with a joyful song. Praising because of God’s provision. His thankfulness for being heard in the midst of his distress. He’d been near death and in great anguish, but the graciously faithful God appeared and led him through it all.

Once the truth of God had been revealed, the psalmist found a reason to sing praise.

Verse 11 shows us that, much like Charlie Brown, other people had failed the psalmist. He calls all humans liars. People whose words fail at every turn. Their animosity against him had been part of the reason for his distress and affliction. They’d caused him to doubt. Led him to speak aloud about the humiliation of his affliction, as verse 10 says.

But notice the strange oxymoronic place that verse 10 also shows us that the psalmist is in. At the very same time that he proclaims aloud his affliction, he also says that he believed even at the same time.

His feeling of distress and anguish didn’t diminish his faith. Sure, he’d prefer other circumstances, but his situation would never determine his belief in the mercifully faithful God.

Because of this decision to remain faithful to his God, he could praise Yahweh. And yes, the psalmist was eventually delivered by God from this distress. But never forget that the thankful faith preceded the deliverance. He believed despite his voice proclaiming his distress.

Afflicted, but thankful.

In the New Testament, Paul quotes from this psalm in 2 Corinthians 4:13. But we should keep the whole flow of Paul’s thought in mind as we discuss his use of the psalm in his application for the life of a follower of Jesus.

We see, in 2 Corinthians 4:8-14, Paul speak about how we can be “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” The situations of our life don’t have to determine our faith in God.

And this is because the truth of God reveals the reason for us to praise God in spite of the depression, affliction, and persecution. Paul points to Jesus—just like Linus on that stage—as that reason.

Once we witness and experience the love of God, we can join in the song with others.

Paul says that because we have the same Spirit of faith, to which he adds the quote from Psalm 116:10, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we can also believe and also speak. “Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence,” (2 Cor. 4:14).

There’s good news in the truth of God. Good news of great joy for all people. That is the beauty of the season that we can hold dear, despite the anxieties of our current circumstances.

Afflicted, but thankful.

That thankful part is present both in 2 Corinthians 4:15 and Psalm 116:17. The psalmist ends his song with a question of what he can do for the faithful God who delivered him. And decides to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, calling on the name of Yahweh.

In both distress and praise, we can call on the name of the Lord. He will be there to shower us in his faithful love.

We started this blog series before Thanksgiving with the idea of thanksgiving. And we end there as well. Because whether we find ourselves delivered or still in the midst of our distress, we can still be thankful that our Creator loves us. Our Savior chose to die for us to bring us into right relationship with him. And that love leaves us beautifully robed in the love of the season.

For this we can be thankful. Even if we still say, “I am greatly afflicted.”

Afflicted, but thankful.