“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71, NKJV). This isn’t a claim that affliction feels good. It’s a retrospective recognition that something valuable was learned through it.
Good here is tied specifically to learning God’s statutes, a depth of understanding that apparently wasn’t accessible any other way.
This is worth holding carefully. It’s not a verse to hand someone in the middle of active suffering as an explanation. It’s a testimony, looking back, of value found through hardship already endured.
Looking back on your own past afflictions, what have you actually learned about God’s statutes that you might not have learned any other way?