Strength

Since the death of my daughter 4 months ago, I have often turned to a book entitled For Times of Trouble, Spiritual Solace from the Psalms by Jeffrey R. Holland. The poetic words from the Psalmist brings comfort and solace to my grieving heart.

Page twenty... Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Jeffrey R. Holland adds to the Psalmist's plea...

Quite regularly in life we all have the personal, even painful need for relief from some kind of despair. We all cry out to our Father in Heaven, "Hear my prayer."

If that relief is not as immediately forthcoming as we would like, we must remember that in those times of distress, God "enlarges" us, makes us grow, makes us stretch, requires more of us than we are wanting (or sometimes willing) to require of ourselves. Our purpose in life is to grow in godly ways, to be enlarged in such virtues as faith, hope, and charity, patience, perseverance  and strength. If that growth must come through sorrow or distress or grief, then so be it. It will be all right in the end. 

I highly recommend this book to those who have need for comfort, guidance, and solace in their times of trouble. A large percentage of the psalms that appear in the Bible were written for just such times of trial and trouble. Jeffrey R. Holland states that "from petitions for relief to acknowledgments of God's power, from pleas to praise, these psalms provide comfort, perspective, and spiritual solace when we are going through our own trials." He explores dozens of scriptural passages from the psalms, offering personal ideas and insights and sharing his testimony that "no matter what the trouble and trial of the day may be, we start and finish with the eternal truth that Go is for us."  His reflections on the psalms provide a powerful witness of that comforting truth.