Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! … Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God.
Psalm 42:3, 5a,c NLT Psalm 42:11 ESV
Recently, while at a funeral – My eyes scanned the small, crowded room, filled with photos and flowers and chatter. And crying. The tears were mingled whispers of “Why?” and “Before his time.” We took our seats and prepared to listen with the soberness required in such settings, my heart breaking for the hurting family around me.
Real pain. Real tragedy.
Depression and pain and sadness are all around us. Added to this layer of heart ache, the enemy often whispers in our ear, “Where is this God of yours?” Just as in Psalm 42, listed above. The trial in front of you may not be literal death, maybe it’s the death of a relationship or the death of a longed-for outcome or death of your health or the devastating death of hope itself. Sinking you to the depths of despair. The enemy hopes to push us to despair, and in the end, hopelessness.
Though you’d hate for others to know, do you relate to the Psalmist when he says, “My tears have been my food day and night”? Is the emotional ache buried deep, rearing its head only when life gets still, so you try to stay busy or distracted? Have the enemy’s taunts of, “Where is this God of yours?” invaded your thoughts?
I’ve been there. If we’re honest, most of us have a time or two. And just like the Psalmist, I talk to myself (Hey, no laughing!); I speak the truth to myself. I ask myself questions. I encourage myself with His Word. And in the end, I remind myself to hope in God. Not in hoped-for outcomes or good health or pleasant circumstances (as if those can be relied upon!). Hope. In. God. Read aloud His word, and talk to yourself. Why not start with all of Psalm 42? It’s not that long. Take in each word. In the end, you will find He is faithful, not to always remove our difficulties, but to walk us through them.
Where’s God? Beside me. In front of me. Behind me. Inside me. He has laid His hand upon me. I am never alone. And neither are you. (See Psalm 139 and John 14).
In the end, you will find He is faithful, not to always remove our difficulties, but to walk us through them.
One last take-away. Look around. Ask questions. Listen to the pain stories of those around you. And take the risk of being real about your own struggles. Let’s direct each other to the only real hope there is – Jesus Christ Himself.
Father God, I ask that You would push away hopelessness and despair, replacing it with the Truth that You promised never to leave or forsake us. We are never alone. Never without hope. You are at work, no matter what our eyes see. We love You, in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Hebrews 12:15 NLT
Though it’s totally unscripted and not at all polished, I pray you hear real life thoughts on God’s Word and how to authentically apply it to our lives.
The Lord will send His goodness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 NASB
…My God, Who gives songs in the night. Job 35:10b
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God (while in prison), and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 NIV
Lean hard into him bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name. Why are you in despair oh my soul put your hope in him I will yet praise him the help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 103
The thick night darkness hid the emotional ache that permeated me as I mentally surveyed my life’s circumstance. My throat sore from stifled tears, in a near whisper, I sang as my declaration … “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name… (Psalm 103:1) The whispered Scripture turned prayer, fell from my lips as I sang to the Lord, and to my own spirit.
That painful, yet powerful, decades-old memory surfaces as my eyes land on the scripture that speaks of “songs in the night.”
The apostles sang songs in the night as they lay shackled in a Roman prison cell … singing God’s praises in the midst of their painful circumstance. Right there in the ongoing unfairness and cruelty, simply for doing the right thing. And Scripture tells us that “the other prisoners heard” the praise songs, and most importantly, they listened.
There’s something about a person walking through pain and trial, who still turns to God … in trusting praise. Maybe through tears and a cracking voice, perhaps, but turning to Him anyway. Others take notice and stop to “listen” as we sing our song in the night. Not a life that never encounters a night, but those who choose to “sing” in the midst of it all.
From a bad hair day to the death of a loved one to an all-encompassing loneliness and everything in between, whatever our night season looks like, if we turn to Him, He will provide a song in our night. An authentic song that others will stop to listen to, and perhaps turn to The song Giver.
If God would make manifest the fact that “He giveth songs in the night,” He must first make it night.
—William Taylor
My Father, as “night” swirls around us, enable us to turn to You rather than away, to Your Word and Your soul-deep Comfort and Peace. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen
This I know, that God is for me. – Psalm 56:9b ESV
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. Hebrews 6:19a BSB
Though the years have now faded into decades, the tidal wave of emotional pain I experienced that day, remains embedded within my mind. The gut-punch, this-can’t-be-happening trial that began unfolding before me definitely didn’t line up with what I had been praying for or what I thought I understood about God. The beginnings of what would become a multi-year trial assaulted my mind with doubts about God’s goodness and even His existence. “How do I make sense of this?,” was my heart’s subconscious cry….
Probably more out of panic than faith, I began to recite what I definitely did know. Like desperately looking for a landmark, my heart and mind scanned the horizon for an anchor to tether myself to. A lighthouse to direct my way. I recognized that I needed to remind myself of the Truth before I fell off the cliff into despair. These words came spilling out of my heart and mouth:
“He gave the life of His Son for me.”
“I know I’m a new creation in Christ. I remember the me before Jesus, and I see the me after Him.”
“He’s promised to bring good out of all I face.”
“He promised, “Call to Me and I will answer you.””
“He said He will never leave me or forsake me.”
“He told me not to fear.”
“He said I should walk by faith and not sight.”
As I spoke the Truth to my own heart, the grip of doubt and despair began to lift. Not forever. But for that moment, His Word kept my heart and mind tethered to the Truth. I have had to repeat this scenario more times than I can count (still do on some days). Often, the best response to a gut-punch tragedy or a trial that rolls on into years is to start with what we know.
Start with what we know. He loves us and gave the life of His Son for us. He is good and faithful. His Word is true. Truer than our feelings or circumstances or momentary doubts. He can be trusted even when what we see doesn’t seem “fair” or just. He has not forgotten us and He will never leave us. Trials don’t equal abandonment.
In a world filled with heartache, gut-wrenching disappointment, the raw reality of life or the ache of regret, it’s imperative that we stay tethered to the Truth. Truth found in His Word*. You can be sure that our own thoughts mingled with the enemy’s lies will seek to bring confusion and doubt, the answer to such an assault is to get back to foundation, to the very basics.
I’ll wrap this up with a sports analogy (Thanks to my husband, I have many of these roaming the halls of my mind!). At the beginning of each season, Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, would often hold up a football and say, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” He did this at the start of training camp to remind his players to focus on the fundamentals. He began using this illustration after a season that revealed a clear lack of basic fundamentals, though fancy moves or trick plays abounded, it was clear that the basics had taken a hit. While I’m admittedly not an expert on football (Or sports of any kind!), I think his words provide a great point for us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s get the basics down. Let’s start with what we know.
Hold up your copy of God’s Word, and remind yourself, “This … is The Truth.”
Father God, when the circumstances of life cause me to doubt Your goodness or my emotions scream that that I’m all alone, help me stay tethered to the Truth in Your Word. I love you so much, help me lean hard into You until these difficulties pass by. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
*Pull specific truths that you personally need reminded of.
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you.
John 10:19 NASB John 14:27 AMP
Has an everyday challenge morphed into a seemingly hopeless circumstance? Has a crisis become an unexpected tragedy? Have your best laid plans fallen apart before you? Have your expectations been dashed by reality? Are you bent low in emotional pain even as the world sees you “standing” deceivingly tall? Has something brought you to a room “with the doors locked for fear?”
Political chaos
Loneliness
Isolation
Relational struggles
Emotional trauma
The unknown
Death
Despair
O precious one –The only Sovereign, the Omnipotent One, the Lord Jesus Christ, stands in your midst. In the midst of your tragedy, your crisis, your fear, your worse-case-scenario and speaks, “Peace be with you.” Receive that today.
I don’t know what you’re walking through or what crisis has caused you to “close and lock the door” in fear, but I encourage you to trust His *Word more than what you see around you. The enemy wants us cringing in fear as if our Lord had been caught by surprise…He has not. He is aware and has already made provision. Dear one, stand in His Peace as the storm swirls and then passes.
Peace be with you.
My soul finds rest in God alone.
Psalm 62:1
Father, Cause Your peace to overflow and overtake our soul.! I exhale in peaceful calm…. not because the storm has ended but because You are in it with us and are in complete control. I choose to walk in Your Peace. Thank You Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen
By Becky White for the Lord Jesus
#Peace
*If you’re not sure where to begin in the Bible, start with the Gospel of John or the New Testament book of Romans. If you’re looking for comfort and encouragement, start with the Old Testament Book of Psalms.
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” …. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
Luke 23:35-39 NASB 1995 (Also see Luke 24)
Recently, a friend and I were discussing how God could easily craft the perfect ending to a particular tragedy engulfing a close family friend. If God would just do “A” and then, “B”, and maybe a little bit of “C,” I’m sure that “D” will be the outcome. Mentally rubbing our hands together in a job-accomplished finish, “See, God. All figured out. Let me know if You need any more suggestions.”
I can hear the laughter from here! However, I bet it’s a familiar mental conversation to some of you. Or maybe you’re too spiritual to have ever secretly thought God could use some advice. But many of us have secretly thought we knew more than God. Let’s admit it and then unpack the truth of the matter. Because the truth is that God declares the end from the beginning, He knows what He’s doing and He can be trusted – even when it looks like a hot, tragic mess. Just hold on.
While Scripture offers many examples of this, let’s take in the scene described in today’s Scripture. Jesus Christ, the Man who declared Himself to be the Son of God, the Man who raised the dead, healed lepers, fed thousands with sardines and crackers and gave sight to a blind man … His bloody and beaten-beyond- human-recognition body is hanging on a cross, nailed there by mere humans (Isaiah 53). Mingled with that sight, we hear words of mocking accusation, “If He really is the Son of God, let Him save Himself, then we’ll believe. He saved others. Let Him save Himself.” At this point, if this were an action movie, the star would rip his muscular arms free from the iron nails and leap from the splintery wooden cross as he lunges forward and drop kicks the sneering guards. But this is no Hollywood movie. And Jesus Christ is no mere man. He is God in the flesh. And He always has the long (eternal) view in mind.
He allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves and longs for. He did not save Himself, so that He could save us. Eternally.
He often allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves and longs for. He did not save Himself, so that He could save us. Eternally.
So too, in our own lives, He may allow what He hates to accomplish what He loves and longs for. A new level of no-matter-what-happens kind of trust, or the salvation of a family member or possibly a living example of what it looks like to walk through tragedy, even as God holds our trembling hand.
Just as in the scene at the cross, there is a lost, and watching world all around us. The onlookers are wondering, is our trust only as deep and wide as a full bank account or good health or sunny days? Will we trust, even when God does not take our advice, that He is still good and He is still faithful and that He has a plan? This truth is something that always needs refresher courses.
Whatever the challenge today, let’s remember the cross. He’s got this.
Father, I know it’s both hilarious and idiotic to think we know more than You. That somehow, I understand and see, what You do not. Forgive me Lord. Help me stand on the truth that You sit as King over all that floods my life and are at work in all I bring to You. Great is Your faithfulness to me, O God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus.
“Save” in Greek σῶσον (sōson) To save, heal, preserve, rescue. From a primary sos; to save, i.e. Deliver or protect.
Click here to purchase a hard copy or get a FREE pdf of the devotional,Stony Paths
Please forgive the “rerun” devo. As I have walked through a bruising trial over the past month, this verse from Psalm 62 keeps running through my mind. “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” He is my Rock. I shall not be moved.
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I have decided to share a few of these OG devos from years past, in their original form for the most part. You may notice a few grammar issues or strange sentence structure. Please try to look past that, and land on the lesson He was teaching me at the time, and maybe even use it to remind/or teach you as well.
For His glory and your encouragement.
Becky White
When my heart is overwhelmed and fainting,
lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2 NASB
One afternoon I found myself distraught over a very difficult situation in my home, feeling overwhelmed by the crisis I reached for the phone to call my *prayer partner. Knowing she would take time out of her day to listen and then pray with me. As the phone rang, I waited in great anticipation, wanting desperately to unload this burden or at least have her share it with me. But…she wasn’t home. In tears I hung up the phone and cried; “Why is this happening, God?!”
In the words of Regis Philbin I had “no life lines left”. Or in the words of Scripture, God had brought me to “a place of wits’ end” Psalm 107:27. I had no where to turn — but to God. After a brief pity-party I realized I hadn’t even talked to the Lord yet about the problem.
Sometimes our Heavenly Father has to take away all our life lines so we will be brought to the place of wits’ end. It’s there that we realize our total dependency on God — that we experience first hand His comfort and faithfulness. So often we turn to our friends or pastors or counselors before ever turning to God. Sadly, some never seek Him out. Though God has given us friends and others to lean on in times of distress, He never intended for us to turn to them at the expense of a relationship with Him.
Once I composed myself, I went to a quiet room and sat down with God. Pouring my heart out to Him and then reading a Psalm aloud. He comforted me as no human could ever do and I learned a valuable lesson. I still called my friend the next day and shared with her my situation, but now I also had the opportunity to share with her what the Lord had taught me and give glory to God for His provision.
When my spirit is overwhelmed and fainting (throwing all of its weight) upon me, You knew my path.” Psalm 142:3a am
“You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.”
Corrie ten Boom
Father God, I have found by experience, that You truly are the God of all comfort. I would have never signed up for the classroom You used to teach me such lessons, but am so thankful for learning it. I love You, in Jesus’ name, amen.
*Jeanne Liston
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
Click here to purchase a hard copy or download a FREE pdf of the devotional,Stony Paths learning to trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life.
In quietness and trust shall be your confidence and strength.
Isaiah 26:3-4
Father, the enemy temps me to doubt You, to question Your timing, Your goodness and even Your awareness of my circumstance. Words and phrases like, Frantic, Anxious, Striving, Worrying, Fearful, or “What if…?” and “Why?” attempt to pierce my soul like a poison dart. Forgive me for the times I’ve allowed them to penetrate, wreaking havoc within me. Cause me to be aware and able to quickly discern the enemy’s lies, holding up my shield of faith as I wield the mighty sword of the Spirit of Your Word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit I will be still before You and before the sea of my circumstances, in quietness and trust I shall be confident in You and Your faithfulness. Exhaling the enemy’s fear inducing lies – I breath in deeply the truth that if You are for me who or what can be against me? You hold my life in the palm of Your hand…is that not enough?
I love You, Father. In the matchless name of my Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Believe it or not, I’ve been writing devotions “for difficult days” for over twenty-five years. Some of those days and seasons of life have been profoundly painful and others, just a pebble-in-my-shoe irritation. But in each situation I have landed (eventually) on two bedrock truths: 1. God is good and entirely faithful, no matter the circumstance. 2. And the Bible is the God-breathed, inerrant and infallible word of Almighty God. I assure you I did not come to these conclusions easily or while relaxing in my favorite chair, sipping a latte. The furnace of affliction has done a great work in my life (even if some of those afflictions were self-inflicted).
Below is a devo I wrote several years ago, but has recently come to my mind. I believe it captures some of the truths that have shaped my life. I pray it encourages you, while also challenging you to (if needed) re-access your view of God’s Word.
The Bible – Truth or Fiction?
Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Proverbs 30:5 NASB
In all my writing I make the assumption that God’s Word is true. Not a hope-so phrase. Not, “Think warm thoughts” nonsense that has no real value or meaning. But Truth. It is the very foundation for the encouragement I offer. Yet, I realize not everyone accepts that truth. So, in this “devotional” I am going to tackle the topic of God’s Word and why it is the very bedrock of my life.
My devotions always begin with a Scripture. The foundation Stone. Not a man’s opinion but God’s Word. I make the assumption that the Bible, from Genesis’s “In the beginning God created … to Revelation’s “Behold, I come quickly” Is Truth. Building on that as I share from His Word and my life’s experiences.
Now for those who don’t hold this view, my writings and speaking might seem like syrupy Christian nonsense or emotional-crutch-reading for the broken and needy or gullible. I stake my eternity on the Bible’s validity. (In fact, everyone is gambling their eternity on one side of that coin or the other. There is no other option.)
Rather than opinion, I offer readers what God has to say on a matter. And the matter I usually speak on is what the Lord has taught/is teaching me the most about – adversity, trials and real-life difficulties. And most of all, how to walk through them honestly but with a focus on the One who holds my life in His hands. Wrestling out both the pain and His purpose.
Let me tell you how this absolute assurance in the Bible began, or at least how it was solidified in my life. I didn’t “grow up” in Church. In fact, though I was raised to believe in “god” generally, I learned everything from Roman Catholicism to reincarnation/New Age/New Thought spirituality to secularism.
I came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered my life to Him after the death of my 3 day old baby girl, who I gave birth to at the ripe old age of barely 15. Many twists and turns have occurred in my life since that day 45 years ago. Including being blessed with 5 more children, two step-daughters as well as the tragedy of giving birth to a still-born son.
Somewhere in the midst of a very challenging trial…okay, a horrific 20 year difficulty … I began questioning God, prayer and even the goodness of God. Why, if God was really listening (and His Word says He is) was life not getting any easier? Either He wasn’t really listening or He didn’t care or He wasn’t even there, were just some of thoughts swirling in my heart as I wrestled this out…
Had I, out of desperation, somehow convinced myself that the Bible and all this Christian stuff was true? Had I talked myself into a reality that existed only in my mind as an emotional crutch? Memories of New Age thinking flooded my mind, causing doubts to increase within me.
I had to know the Truth. Wherever that led me. I began a search that first of all included asking God to reveal Himself to me… and included reading the book, The Case for Christ written by Lee Strobel, an award winning investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune who was an atheist and skeptic turned Christian. I devoured teachings by famed apologist from Australia, Ken Ham, and read the writings of C.S. Lewis. Another skeptic turned Christian.
But in the end what convinced me of the Truth of God’s Word was the stand taken by a hero of mine, Billy Graham. Dr. Graham faced his own moment of crisis fresh out of seminary. A friend and seminary peer by the name of Charles Templeton told Billy that he just couldn’t believe the Bible anymore. That some parts were not trustworthy. This caused a crisis of faith for Graham that culminated in a mountain-top scene where Dr. Graham cried out to God for help. Finally, with an open Bible, he leaned upon a tree stump and made the declaration that though he didn’t have all the answers, from that day on he would take his stand for the Inerrant Truth of the Bible.
Years later, Dr. Graham was famous for lifting high his Bible and proclaiming with authority, “The Bible says…”
Back to my conviction of the Truth of the Bible. While secular historians from antiquity such as Josephus and Tacitus and modern Biblical scholars provided proof, in the end I made the choice to believe the Bible, the entire Bible, from the first word to the last, to be the infallible, inerrant Word of Almighty God. Period.
Now…now I have a foundation to lean into. To write about. To offer genuine comfort and encouragement to those facing real pain. Real adversity. Real tragedy. Heck…life happens to all of us doesn’t it? I have nothing of real value or substance to offer anyone other than the Words of God Himself. Leaning hard into His Truth that can be trusted in. Depended on. His Word, no warm-thought positive phrase can provide authentic hope and peace. Not, and let me shout this from the mountain-tops of my laptop… not a feel-good, hope so, mind over matter, fluffy nonsense of “just think happy thoughts.” Heck no.
What I offer through my writing. Through my speaking, is the Truth. Truth that can be leaned into and relied upon.
Now, with that sure foundation…Let me encourage you … “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.” Psalm 145:18 AMPC
He is near you. Near me. You are not alone. Seek Him and He will be found by you. Call upon Him. Sincerely. He will not fail you. Bank on it.
Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me. Psalm 23:4 AMP
Even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You. Psalm 139:12 ESV
The LORD my God illumines my darkness. Psalm 18:28 NASB 1995
“Come on Becky, this is no big deal.” I told myself, as I flipped off the light switch. “You just have to walk from the church kitchen, across the gymnasium, and you’ll reach the door on the other side of the room.” But with the lights now off, the windowless gym room carried with it a palatable darkness. I seemed to lose depth perception, and even lose my sense of balance as I made my way to the other side of the room. Finally reaching the push-bar door handle, I pushed the door open. Instantly, light rays revealed that though I could not feel or sense progress, I had walked the length of the room. I knew my legs were moving. I knew I must be inching closer to my goal, but I had zero awareness of the reality of making any headway. Such a strange sensation.
No big deal when we’re crossing a gymnasium. Huge deal when it’s a dark trial we’re walking through. Or sunless valley of the shadow of death, as God’s Word describes it. Has a dark trial ever taken away your capacity to sense any forward progress or blinded you to God’s nearness? Have you felt weary and faltering, nearly losing your balance as you attempt to walk in the darkness? In the blackness, did fear seem to speak louder than His promises? I’ve been there. A time or two or ten. Not just in my great gym crossing, but in the darkness of painful trials that eclipsed any semblance of progress or hope. Causing thoughts of “what-if?” or “will this ever end?” to shout louder than the promises I quoted.
Some trials feel unending in duration and offer no point of reference for how far we’ve come or how far we still need to go. At times we grope around feeling for anything to steady our balance as we grow weary from the sheer length of a painful journey. While, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, there are no trial-free passes handed out to followers of Jesus Christ. If there were, I would be first in line to ask for the family package. Yet He has assured us of His Presence in the blackness of our trials. Assured that His rod and staff will both protect and guide, as we navigate in the darkness. It is enough to know that HE can see in the darkness of our trials and will bring us to His desired destination.
Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Father, thank You that I don’t have to fear the darkness of my circumstances. You see what I cannot and are my Source of light even when all appears dark and hopeless. Please enable me to rest and trust in You we walk through this trial together. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus.
Greek: Light: a source of light, radiance. From an obsolete phao; luminousness.
Devotions for Difficult Days 