Believe it or not God’s grace calls you to suffer and it calls you to wait, but it never calls you to stand in your own strength or to stand alone.
The Bible never denies reality. The Bible never plays it safe. The Bible never offers you a cosmetic view of the fallen world. The Bible never tricks you into thinking things are better than they are. The Bible is straightforward and honest but not void of hope.
While it is very candid about the hardships of life in this broken world, the Bible is gloriously hopeful. It’s honest does not crush Hope, but neither does the Bible negate honesty. Psalm 28 is a good example of the important harmony of these two themes:
To you, Lord, I call. My rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my petitions,when I cry to you, when I left up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak race with the neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve. Because they don’t respect the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up. Blessed is the Lord because He had heard the voice of my petitions. The Lord is my strength and my shields. My heart has trusted in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank Him. The Lord is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to His anointed. Save your people, bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also and bear them up forever.
Psalm 28:1-9
This Psalm of trouble ends up being a Psalm of shining hope. That’s the account of the life of every believer, because you and I are never alone in our trouble. The “saving refuge” is always with us.
From Pity to Praise 