“Be still and know that I am God,” the psalmist writes (Psalm 46:10). There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7), and I think this is a time for me to keep silent and for God’s word to speak. So, I’m linking here the verses and songs I’ve been reflecting on over the past few weeks. I hope that they encourage you.
Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
Lamentations 3:19-24
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
Psalm 27:13-14
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Job 38:4-7
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Isaiah 55:8-9
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
These things I remember,
Psalm 42:4-6a
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints….Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
Psalm 77:1-3, 10-13
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
I form light and create darkness;
Isaiah 45:7
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Music has always been an encouragement to me, so I’m linking some songs here, too. I can’t take credit for discovering most of these; they were passed on to me by friends and mentors, some years ago, some weeks ago.
- Where Were You by Ghost Ship
- You are Faithful by Carrollton
- Shadows of the Dawn by The Gray Havens
- Even If by MercyMe
- If… by Beautiful Eulogy
- Do It Again by Elevation Worship
- It is Well with my Soul by Audrey Assad
Last, let’s encourage one another. Leave a comment and share what verses and songs have been on your heart and mind lately, whether they are encouragements or laments.