Psalm 25:17 – My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! (NLT)

Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. (NIV)

Difficult situations can test our endurance. Sometimes difficult situations make it difficult to trust God. We trust Him in the first few days, but then those days turn into months. We thought it would be over by now. We thought we had come through the battle, but now we are getting attacked again. It’s hard to endure and trust when we can’t see that things are getting better, when we not only can’t see the finish line but also begin to doubt that one even exists. Anne F. Beiler said, “My philosophy is: Life is hard, but God is good. Try not to confuse the two.” The Bible encourages us to put our trust in God even through hardship – especially through hardship! God is worthy to be trusted because He is good! When our grandson was a toddler, he was being punished for something he had done. I asked him why he had done it, and his reply was “I made a bad, bad choice”. Sometimes our suffering in life is the consequence of our own bad, bad choice. Sometimes our suffering comes from the unjust hands of others. Sometimes even believers ask, “Why is God allowing this to happen?” I don’t know why God allows suffering. I think that there are times that God allows us to suffer so that we can learn that He is sufficient in all situations. Oswald Chambers said, “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God, whose ways you may not understand at the time.” Lord, we know that You can be trusted because You are good, but sometimes trusting You is hard when we are going through difficult times! We need to confess our difficulty, even quoting the father in Mark 9:24 — “I believe. Help me with my unbelief”. We may feel that the anguish is more than we can handle and ask You to show us where You are working, but even if You choose not to give us that knowledge, please help us to stay focused on the truth that You are in charge and that You have a greater plan and purpose. Charles Hodge said, “The ultimate ground of faith and knowledge is confidence in God.” We can have confidence in You, Lord because we know from experience that You are loving and wise and sovereign. Even in difficult situations – especially in difficult situations – help us to have deliberate confidence in You.