“I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous,
and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”
—Psalm 119:75 (NIV)

The events surrounding the shootings in Colorado and some other things recently have reminded me how this world is not how God intended things to be. While I’m sure that is no great surprise, sometimes I can get in a rut where I’m so focused on things that my awareness of the world’s brokeness dissipates. Sometimes I simply have to take a step back and realize where I’m operating.

One of those “other things” is that my cousin’s husband may loose an eye due to an accident a few weeks ago. That rocked my world. Yet when I talked with him I was overwhelmed by how he had handed it over to God. Faithfulness through affliction is what we are all called to. When I encounter those who are in the midst of pain or sorrow and I see their strength, it humbles yet inspires me.

Sometimes my only comfort at times in knowing God is surrounding me, and so I must prove strong and hopeful in my faith and perseverance. My most favorite Scripture comes from a reading at my grandfather’s service years ago –

“The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall i fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?”
–Psalm 27:1 NIV

Often times I have to add “or what” so it reads “whom or what”, but I still find strength in those words. May you also.

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”
–Isaiah 40:31 NIV