3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
1 “There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. 2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. 3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness. 4 Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man; far from men he dangles and sways. 5 The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; 6 sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold. 7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it. 8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there. Man’s hand assaults the flinty rock and lays bare the roots of the mountains. 10 He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures.”
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
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.”
“When we are in a dark place we are not to despair rather look for patches of God-light for they are most assuredly there. He is supremely close to His children as they walk through their Valley of Baca’s (tears) taking them from strength to strength. His Presence is continually with us and even more so in our darkest hours. Further, He has purpose in each circumstance He allows in the lives of His heirs of mercy. He can be fully trusted.” BHY
“We pray for blessings, we pray for peace Comfort for family, protection while we sleep We pray for healing, for prosperity We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering All the while You hear each spoken need Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life Are Your mercies in disguise?” Laura Story
“It's a promise that whatever you might be experiencing today is just one chapter in a story that He is writing, and that story isn't over yet… extract the precious from the worthless (Jeremiah 15). Life has far more sticky situations than miraculous moments. As you encounter challenges, difficulties, and setbacks, train your eyes to ‘extract the precious.’ Train your ears to hear the promise. And train your heart to pursue relentless hope.” Beth Guckenberger
“The Lord taught me how to sigh in pain, how to weep in gladness, and how to trust during days of hope deferred. It was not an easy road to walk. It still isn’t easy, and it isn’t safe. Rather, it is a confounding country full of myths and mirages. Here, faith resembles denial, settledness looks like surrender, and hope is the scariest creature of all. If you are with me here in this land, you know all about discouragement. But look up, friend. The path before us is paved with secret riches. To embrace it is to embrace the terrifying tension of God’s inaugurated but unfinished Kingdom: the already and the not yet, the treasure in the field, costing us everything but giving us even more. It is the place where I thank God for my son, who is enough, and in the next breath, I beg God for more. The road ahead is dangerous but not barren. There is sustenance here, because Christ Himself is here, and He goes before us. He walked this path already, this Man of Sorrows, and endured all that we must endure and more. But He did it all for the joy set before Him. In the land of unanswered prayer, we follow His lead. He does not hover above us on the winds of false expectations. Rather, He stands next to us with His own humble scars, beckoning us forward.” Jason Hague
“For the child of the King, it is such blessing to walk with God “in the cool of the day” free from worry, anxiety and fear. He Who loves us with an everlasting love, Who rejoices over us with singing, Who covers us with His feathers and under Whose wings we find refuge is our security in this fallen and very, very difficult world – the land of dragons. He doesn’t remove our trials, He bestows grace sufficient to meet our needs and by the difficulty, through His power, our faith is strengthened and a harvest of righteousness and peace is produced in our lives. He is always faithful in this task. Don’t flee from Him when troubles come our way (even by our own doings) rather run to Him. He’s calling you.” BHY
“When God doesn’t prevent suffering, He gives us perspective on suffering. Sometimes you just have to get a ‘God’s-eye’ view to see that the master potter is scooping up all the rubble and ruin from your low place to mold and create good in your life. His love reaches down into the dirt – what you may think is utter defeat or hopeless – and lifts you to see that He can turn what you may view as worthless into something worthwhile. God can take what we think is worthless and turn it into something worthwhile. Often, when we’re down, all we can see is the valley, the wasteland – we feel like our lives are a mess. But our loving God does not see us and our low places that way. The stuff you think may be just too messy, too ugly, too far gone is the stuff God is infusing with purpose. The sorrow that hurts you? God fashions it into faith that sustains you. The sin you’re ashamed of? God uses it to create beautiful humility. The failures you regret? God turns them into wisdom. The grief that shattered your heart? God crafts that into unshakeable faith. The missed opportunities? God uses those to make you reflect His grace. The loss you never expected? God molds that into strength you can’t explain. God can make your low place a stepping stone to climb higher with Him. He can take even the worst things in your life – the injustice, defeat, abandonment or failure – to create the best for you, His beloved child.” Jennifer Rothschild
“As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before. Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection, which is so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, ‘the bosom-spring of joy,’ and when the Divine Comforter bends it to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know.” C. H. Spurgeon
“To the child of God, there is no such thing as an accident. He travels an appointed way… Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God’s hidden providence.” A.W. Tozer
“The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.” Samuel Rutherford
“Joys are always on their way to us. They are always traveling to us through the darkness of the night. There is never a night when they are not coming.” Amy Carmichael
“The presence of God in the darkness of our trials is a small foretaste of the presence of God that we will know in the eternal light of his glory. It is in the absence of God’s gifts that I learn the Giver himself is the greatest gift of all.” Betsy Childs Howard
“God shapes our character through suffering – conforming us more into the image of His Son and giving us a greater understanding of Who He is and who we are.” BHY
“But there’s a decision that I find God is asking us to make: whether we are going to choose to interpret our circumstances based on what we hold to be true about God, or whether we’re going to judge what we hold to be true about God based on our circumstances. People ask how we’re doing, and I like to say: ‘We have a faithful God.’ Every promise he’s kept, every need he’s met.” Laura Story