Life is Hard, but God is Good

Life is Hard, But God is Good

We all have troubles. Ask any one person, and there’s bound to be something in their life that troubles them. Jesus basically predicts it in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble…”. For some, the troubles may be small and somewhat trivial, easily dealt with during the course of the day. For others, the troubles surround and envelop them as if they were in a leaky lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific; no sign of land, no sign of rescue, no sign of hope. I had a day recently where my own troubles rapidly slid from the manageable level to the swirling level.

Two main issues were the cause of the heaviness I felt, both involving family members. For the most part, I knew my role in dealing with these issues, and was able to process through the emotions of each, offer help where I could be of use, and gave each situation up to God with prayer and the belief that he would carry us through the journey. It was not easy, but I kept telling myself “we all have troubles – I can deal with this”.

One Friday, while at work, I received a call that one of the situations had taken a sharp turn for the worse. I am fortunate that there is a storage room just two steps away from my desk, so I was able to step inside to carry on the conversation and process the news I had been given. I then called my wife to relay the news, and grieve with her. After twenty minutes, I stepped out of the room feeling a bit shaky and emotional. I sat at my desk, feeling numb and at a loss of words. Sitting in silence, I thought “Now what? Where do we go from here?” Suddenly a phrase I had heard many times before popped into my head…

Life is Hard, but God is Good.

 Looking for a way to break through the clouds, I pulled up Google and typed that phrase, longing for a bit of hope and encouragement. The top result? Lamentations 3.

Lamentations is a book that is frequently overlooked. It tells the tale of woe and despair that came after Jerusalem was overrun and destroyed by Babylon. The temples were destroyed, thousands were killed, with the remaining inhabitants taken captive and hauled to Babylon. Chapter three begins with a vivid description of his anguish as he laments over the loss of life, the destruction of God’s temple, and God’s abandonment of his chose people.

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.

 He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.

He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

While my troubles in no way equaled his, I could identify with the emotions as I read, especially the last line:

 I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Like a love song that seems trite until you’ve fallen madly in love, this line seemed to sum up my feelings perfectly as I wallowed in the pit of despair. And yet, the next line began to bring that encouragement that I was seeking…

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

In the midst of his despair, he dares to hope. And what is that hope?

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!

I read the passage over and over again, struck by the utter chaos and destruction that he had witnessed and the great loss that he felt, and the small but steady beacon that lit his darkness.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!

As I mentioned before, John 16:33 says that “In the world you will have trouble…”, but the verse does not end there.

“In the world you will have trouble…but take heart, for I have overcome the world.”

Did this solve my troubles? No, not hardly. One situation is taking a slow and painful journey toward an end I don’t want to see. The other has taken a new turn for the worse. Both still bring a heaviness that can be hard to bear at times, and the subject of many deep conversations at night with Ginger and deep prayers with God. And yet, these words lift me up in those dark times:

Take heart.

Dare to hope.

Life is hard,

But God is good.