“They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.” Psalm 107:28

Raise a Hallelujah

In dealing with a friend’s death, I love something Rick Warren said: “I do not have to know why everything happens since I know God is good, He loves me, and life on earth is not the whole story.”

I think that sums up where my heart has landed. We know God is good. We know He loves us, and wants His will for our lives. We know we can trust Him. We know He will help us—that His grace is sufficient. We know He is working for good in every situation. We know He has a “future and a hope” for us (Jeremiah 29:11). We know we can’t survive things like this on our own, but God will be by our side, holding our hand, and walking with us through it.

In the midst of our pain and suffering, Jesus is right with us. I have been encouraged by the fact that when Jesus saw the distress of Martha and Mary weeping over the death of their brother Lazarus, “Jesus wept”with them (John 11:35). I believe He often weeps with us in our pain and distress. His heart is broken with us when we walk through these deep waters.

A while back a friend sent me a song by Jonathan & Melissa Helser: “I Raise a Hallelujah—I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm.” That’s what I’ve tried to do on this journey. I want to keep trusting Him. I want my song to be loud—a weapon—until hope arises from the ashes.

When fear, pain, confusion, questions, and doubts raise their head on my journey, I have asked the Lord to give me strength to sing and praise Him in the middle of the storm. He helps me each time. He is faithful. I raise a hallelujah to Him.

When we go through the hard times of life, He will keep us. He loves us. He’s not punishing us. He doesn’t enjoy watching us suffer. He suffers with us. He will help us. He will bring us through the difficult time. He won’t let us fall apart. He won’t let it destroy us. But we have to keep holding onto Him! If we do that, He’ll help us sing in the middle of the storm. I’m so grateful for His help and faithfulness.

“Lord, hear our declarations of trust in You. May You be blessed. Amen.”