Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life…. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.—PSALM 138:7–8 ESV
The Bible is full of examples of men and women who walked “in the midst of trouble.” In fact, it is impossible to find anyone who hasn’t experienced trouble at some point in his or her life. While we can’t escape trouble, we can endure it when we know God has a purpose that He is fulfilling through the trial.
Caring for a loved one with special needs or a terminal illness is difficult. And at times there seems to be no hope or purpose in the pain, exhaustion, and confusion that surround us. But God’s promise in Psalm 138 is echoed in Isaiah 55:10–11: “‘For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and…water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it’ ” (ESV).
So rest in the knowledge that whatever trouble you are walking through today, God is using it to accomplish His purpose in you.
Father, I thank You that You have a plan and purpose for each of Your children—not to destroy us, but to strengthen and prosper us.
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.—Genesis 1:21 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.—Colossians 3:23 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.—Romans 12:2 (ESV)
