Don't wish for no afflictions

Don't, I repeat, wish for no afflictions. Jeremiah Burroughs in his book The Evil of Evils says "lack of afflictions comes from God's wrath." When God says in Hosea 4:14 "I will not punish their daughters when they commit adultery," he is turning Israel out of the house.
Missionary martyr Betty Stam died violently in China. During the Boxer Rebellion there was a great deal of hostility toward foreigners, and though she and her husand knew soldiers were coming, they were not able to escape. Here is a poem she wrote that profoundly expresses that God is in the afflictions of the believer:

I'm Standing

I'm standing, Lord;
there is a mist that blinds my sight.
Steep jagged rocks, front, left and right,
Lower, dim, gigantic, in the night.
Where is the way?

I'm standing, Lord;
The black rock hems me in behind.
Above my head a moaning wind
Chills and oppresses heart and mind.
I am afraid.

He answered me, and on His face
A look ineffable of grace.
Of perfect, understanding love,
Which all my murmuring did remove.

I'm standing, Lord;
Since Thou hast spoken, Lord, I see
Thou hast beset - these rocks are Thee!
And, since Thy love encloses me,
I stand and sing.