Strength in Difficult Seasons

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles. ¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

¹For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, ³though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah ⁴There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. ⁵God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. ⁶Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice. ⁷The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah ⁸Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth. ⁹He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire. ¹⁰“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.” ¹¹The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. ²⁹He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. ³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. ³¹But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

¹⁹Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. ²⁰Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. ²¹Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: ²²Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. ²³They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! ²⁴“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” ²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

³³I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

⁷Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. ¹³And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. ¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God. ¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. ¹⁸So 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.

²⁸Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. ⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. ⁷And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

²⁰As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

⁶Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁷Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. ⁸The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

¹On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down. ²They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way. ³When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive. ⁶And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

¹²Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” ¹³Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD. ¹⁴Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants, as he stood in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God. ¹⁶Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

²⁰Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” ²²In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

²³I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book, ²⁴by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever. ²⁵But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. ²⁶Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. ²⁷I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me!

¹Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread? ²When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell. ³Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust. ⁴One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. ⁵For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock. ⁶Then my head will be held high above my enemies around me. At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. ⁷Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me. ⁸My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek. ⁹Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation. ¹⁰Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. ¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors. ¹²Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. ¹³Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!

⁵Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence. ⁶O my God, my soul despairs within me. Therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—even from Mount Mizar. ⁷Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me. ⁸The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life. ⁹I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?” ¹⁰Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ¹¹Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

¹⁶But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. ¹⁷Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice. ¹⁸He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. ²²Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ²From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ³For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy. ⁴Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

²³Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand. ²⁴You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory. ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You. ²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You. ²⁸But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.

¹A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? ²My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. ³He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. ⁴Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ⁵The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. ⁶The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. ⁸The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.

¹⁰Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. ¹³For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.

¹But now, this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze. ³For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, ¹⁸yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. ²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. ²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. ³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁷or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

²⁷The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’

⁴while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷A second time the angel of the LORD returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” ⁸So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

¹⁰Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ²How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? ³Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death, ⁴lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall. ⁵But I have trusted in Your loving devotion; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation. ⁶I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

⁵For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning. ¹¹You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹²that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

⁹Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well. ¹⁰For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away. ¹⁴But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” ¹⁵My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. ²⁴Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. ²He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. ³He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

³When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. ⁴In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ⁸You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book? ⁹Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side. ¹⁰In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, ¹¹in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

¹For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him. ²He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken. ⁵Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. ⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken. ⁷My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God. ⁸Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

¹A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water. ²So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory. ³Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You. ⁴So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift my hands. ⁵My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You. ⁶When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. ⁷For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. ⁸My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. ⁶As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; even the autumn rain covers it with pools. ⁷They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion.

¹⁷Unless the LORD had been my helper, I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. ¹⁸If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me. ¹⁹When anxiety overwhelms me, Your consolation delights my soul.

¹I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy. ²Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live. ³The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. ⁴Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!” ⁵The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. ⁶The LORD preserves the simplehearted; I was helpless, and He saved me. ⁷Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. ⁸For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. ⁹I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

⁴⁹Remember Your word to Your servant, upon which You have given me hope. ⁵⁰This is my comfort in affliction, that Your promise has given me life. ⁵¹The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law. ⁵²I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD, and in them I find comfort. ⁹²If Your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction.

⁵Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. ⁶He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

¹A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD! ²O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy. ³If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand? ⁴But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared. ⁵I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope. ⁶My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning—more than watchmen wait for the morning. ⁷O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance. ⁸And He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.

³On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul. ⁷If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me. ⁸The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.

¹⁴The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. ¹⁸The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth. ¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

³Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! ⁴Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

³“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. ⁴Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

¹⁴But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!” ¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! ¹⁶Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

¹⁰Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

¹The Spirit of the Lord GOD 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 liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, ²to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, ³to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

⁹In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

⁷But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

⁷But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. ⁸Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

⁷The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

³²When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. ³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. ²In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.

²⁰Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. ²²So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. ²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

⁴For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. ¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

⁸We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

⁹Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

¹²I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need. ¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, ¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

¹⁶At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. ³⁶You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” ⁶So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

⁷Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. ⁸You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials ⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory. ¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. ⁴‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” ⁵And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”

³¹For the Lord will not cast us off forever. ³²Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion. ³³For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.

⁷Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live? ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.