Light in the Dark...

So for Bible study tonight, we are supposed to bring our favorite Bible verse and be prepared to discuss it and the importance of it.  Of course, I wait until the morning of to figure out what to bring.  I have soo many Bible verses that mean something to me, so where do I start?  I didn’t want to do the traditional “wedding” verse (see post below) so now google and I are trying to find something that will work.  I was having a hard time settling though.  Nothing seemed to quite fit.

And then it dawned on me…the other day I was driving around, I’m not even sure when exactly it was or where I was going.  Sick of the overplayed pop music, I turned it to a Christian station.  There was some guy just talking and I typically just turn it right away, not interested in anything that I can’t dance to.  But I decided to listen for just a minute.  He was addressing pain and suffering that people feel, specifically in response to someone losing a family member. And he mentioned this verse.  (Yes, I bolded parts).

Psalm 71:20 - 20 “You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. 21 You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again. 22 Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O God.”

Everyone goes through hardship, through troubles, through hard times.  No one is excluded from the pain that the world often brings to us.  Pain and suffering are just part of life.  They are a part of the beauty that comes with the free will that God has lovingly allowed us to have.  I am not saying people choose their pain or deserve it. But God doesn’t either.  He gets no joy from our suffering.  He is not spiteful or avengeful.  He cries when we cry and he lends the hand to get you out of the mud.

That is why I love this verse.  He allows us troubles because he allows us free will.  He allows the world to run it’s course and he is always there to lean on.  But in the end, he is there to pull you out of those troubles.  He is there through it all and is there to help you move on to “restore you” and to comfort you yet again.  Lean on him.  Rely on him.  He will restore you to an even better place.  And when he does, fall on your hands and knees and give him all your praise.  Thank him for the good and thank him for the bad.  It’s our entire journey that makes us who we are.  Every experience is just one small piece to our beautiful puzzle.