17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
14 For he himself is our peace.
“Anticipation of trouble makes trifles appear unduly large, and the troubles that never come make up an imagined burden that will crush the spirit. They are haunting specters, as unsubstantial as a bad dream, and we spend the strength that should be expended in constructive work and services in fighting problems that do not even exist.” Billy Graham
“‘Dost thou want nothing, O poor soul? Hast thou nothing to ask? Oh yes! You say, a great deal. Well then, draw near to thy gracious King and Bridegroom without fear. Lo! He holds out His golden scepter to thee, saying, ‘Only ask: not the half, but the whole of My kingdom shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’ O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small. His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him. But whatever is poured out before Him is actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are relieved. And if you have experienced His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His help. We often imagine we were willing and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it is not so: He rather draws us, and desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing mind.” K.H. Von Bogatzky
“In believing prayer, we learn to connect our present troubles to the good and perfect will of God. We refuse to believe that chance rules our lives. We withstand the temptation to imagine that God is capricious or malicious. We know he has a higher purpose and that he is not dealing with us as our sins deserve. As we bring our troubles to Jesus in prayer—asking his will to be done—we approve the will of our Father in heaven. We see our sufferings in the greater reality of his good, acceptable, and perfect will. In prayer we ‘turn crisis to Christ.’ Our heart becomes tuned to his heart and we sing the song of grace.” Ancient Prayer, John F. Smed
“A fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent solicitude and anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the several troubles of life....Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises. For there is no extremity so great but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in it.” Samuel Clarke
“God will never permit any troubles to come upon us unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.” Peter Marshall
“This God is no stranger to the hard road. This God walked the hardest road for us. And whatever road we’re walking one now—then somehow, someway—that road is good. There’s not just breadcrumbs of good for you on it; the road itself is good... In this hard, He is doing something holy. He is doing something transformative. Even as our hearts rage. Even as they break....This upside down road, where His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), where troubles are an opportunity for great joy (James 1:2) because troubles usher us into His presence, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy. (Psalms 16:11). This is Who. A God who does not forsake. A God who is not cruel. A God who is not stingy with grace. Not a sparrow falls outside of His care. When we find ourselves walking through a dry and weary land where there is no water, shaking our fists at why...Fix the eyes on this God. Remember and rest in Who. Maybe comfort isn’t found so much when we ask ‘Why is this all unfolding here and now?’ — Maybe comfort is found more when we rest in Who is enfolding us all here and now.” Katie Ganshert
“Seriously, who wants to be known as ‘Shallow Hal’? Yet sadly, many who claim faith in Christ fall into the mile wide and an inch-deep category. This is not of God’s choosing. He desires for us to grow up in Christ – to be conformed to the image of his Son – and He often uses our tribulations to bring this about. That is His chosen instrument. Sometimes this is excruciatingly painful – more often than not. Remember as well, in this fallen and broken world, pain comes to all. There are no exceptions. But as believers our pain has purpose. Pain is also relative as you most likely know. A coffee stain on a white skirt can be as devastating to some as a bad diagnosis – go figure...If tribulation, then, is inevitable should we not prayerfully seek the purpose for it and grow up, look up, or grow nearer, if you will, in Christ? As believers, we are never more like our Savior as when we walk the path of suffering and sacrifice. And whether we are discerners of this or not the more like Christ we are the more satisfied we will be. Remember, too, God’s grace is always sufficient to meet every need. Every. Need.” BHY
“He’s making good out of even the bad days. And God’s good plans are bigger than any of your messes, your regrets, your bad mistakes. Lord, Thank You: I am not the mistakes I have made. I am not the plans I have failed. I am not the wrongs I have done. I am not forgotten. I am not abandoned. I am not alone. Because You say to the lost: Come. You say to the Unlikely: Beloved. You say to the Battle Weary: Rest. In a hard and beautiful world, Your grace is the only pillowed relief for my tired soul to rest in You this week — making all things new. And all the brave heaved relief & smiled their Amen.” Anonymous