There will always be times where it becomes increasingly difficult not to feel helpless. Everyone gets down sometimes; that's just part of life. But there is no reason to continue feeling as if your world is falling apart. It is easy to allow ourselves to become consumed with all of our problems and then proceed to neglect asking for help, strength and guidance. Maybe we feel like God gets tired of hearing about what is bothering us, or maybe we put ourselves on a pedestal at times and believe we can fix everything on our own terms. The fact is that God will never get tired of hearing from us, and we are completely dependent on him in every aspect. As long as your prayers are spoken with pure intentions and a desire to please him, we should never believe the lie that our Creator has had enough of us. With that being said, there is no shortage of comforting verses in the Bible to help get you through tough times.
Psalm 25:16-18 says, "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins." This verse is a direct prayer from scripture asking God to be gracious and remove distresses. It is consoling to know that we are not the only ones who have suffered at times. Even David, who was deemed "a man after God's own heart," experienced extremely rough patches in his life. It would be uncommon not to encounter hardships.
Psalm 34:18 tells us, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." This goes to show he knows that you will feel crushed sometimes, but he assures you that he is with you through it all.
Isaiah 41:10 states, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." When I read this verse, I imagine him leaning down to lift up my face, assuring me that I have nothing to worry or be discouraged about because of the God I serve.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." This Scripture is the one that speaks to me the most. We, as humans, are supposed to have weaknesses, and we are all going to struggle seeing a way out of a trying situation. The beauty of our flaws and imperfect lives, however, move the spotlight off of our problems and onto the power of Christ working in us. In fact, he says that our weaknesses are the way in which his power is made perfect. That means that we get to play a huge role in showing off the power of Christ.
To reiterate what Paul says, I think we should all practice boasting a bit more about our God working in our weaknesses rather than constantly complaining about how difficult our lives can be. If you think your life has been tough, just read a summary of the things Paul went through. If I were him, I would think that imprisonment and being shipwrecked would be enough hard times for me. Yet he endured so much more than most of us will ever have to, and he still found utter beauty in the midst of his sufferings. Yes, there were likely times where he felt like giving up, as many of us feel like doing on a daily basis. But if Paul was able to persevere despite all the trials he faced, we have no excuse not to choose to do the same. When facing hard situations, don't lose heart or believe that you are ever completely alone. The four Bible verses I chose are for the different stages you may be in if your soul is weary. Psalm 25 is a plea for when you feel helpless. Psalm 34 and Isaiah 41 are both specific to when you feel isolated and need to be reassured that God will rescue you. 2 Corinthians affirms the fact that there is a purpose for our feeling weak. Showing our dependence on him helps to fulfill that purpose. I hope that these verses and the words I have written have encouraged you in some way. Never forget that there has never been and will never be a time in which you are alone. A weary soul will not last forever; you only have to trust that you can make it through whatever comes your way. You are stronger, braver and more powerful than you think. But when you join forces with the Father, who is the strongest, bravest and most powerful, you are unstoppable.
