Verse from Psalm

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress. Psalm 91:2

When the storms of life come, where can we run? Sorrow, worry, illness, and confusion can make us fearful and in need of refuge. We need a strong shelter that’ll protect us. Psalm 91 reminds us that God has promised to rescue us and to be with us in trouble. “Because he loves me . . . I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name” (v. 14). When we need help, we can call on His name and He “will answer” us (v. 15).

When our courage fails us, we can lean into His strength. He’s our shelter in any storm.

Verse from Job

To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13

Zophar, a friend of Job’s, sounded wise in his assessment of Job’s difficulties. “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?” Zophar asked him (Job 11:7). “They are higher than the heavens above” (v. 8). Who can argue with that? But then Zophar dared speak of something he couldn’t know: Job’s heart. Without evidence, he proclaimed, “If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then . . . you will stand firm and without fear” (vv. 14-15). 

Job responded sarcastically, “Wisdom will die with you! But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?” (12:2-3). Job’s reality was so complex that even he didn’t know what was taking place (see Job 1-2). He correctly said, “To God belong wisdom and power” (12:13). It didn’t come from Zophar, who presumed to have authority and insight that weren’t his.

Our friends may need our loving counsel from time to time. But usually friends in crisis need us to bring their names in prayer to the one who truly does know them.

Verse from Isaiah

A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Isaiah 35:8

After Jennifer was diagnosed with early onset dementia, she couldn’t read the Bible easily, so she started listening to it. Scripture passages now mean something new to her. For example, she gets lost easily, often doesn’t know who people are, and sees hallucinations of wild animals. When she’s disoriented and fearful, she receives God’s comfort as she hears Isaiah speak of “the Way of Holiness” set aside “for those who walk on that Way” (Isaiah 35:8). On that road will be no wicked fools, “nor any ravenous beast”; instead, “only the redeemed will walk there,” those whom God rescues (v. 9).

The prophet Isaiah shared God’s promises to His people, those exiled from their home. Away from the temple, where they would experience His presence, they must have felt bereft and forlorn. The promises, therefore, of the Way of Holiness, the path to God, would give them hope and strength. To think of entering “Zion with singing,” without fear or sorrow, would lead them to rejoice (v. 10).

Even as Jennifer holds on to these assurances from centuries ago, so too can we who believe in Jesus trust that as we journey with Him, we’ll know gladness and joy (v. 10). Whatever trials we face in this life—however taxing or life-altering—we know that God’s way leads us home to Him.

Verse from 2 Corinthians

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that . . . you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Proud of the Corinthians’ readiness to help fellow believers (v. 2), Paul hoped to pick up a collection they had started (v. 3). Imploring them to give generously and cheerfully, he noted that God would not only reward those who gave (vv. 6-7) but also bless people so they could give even more (v. 8).

God doesn’t expect us to give what we’re unable to give (8:12). Rather, He entrusts us with money, time, or talent to “abound in every good work” (9:8), and He supplies what we need so we “can be generous on every occasion” (v. 11). That’s why we can give in faith and with a cheerful heart (v. 7), knowing that we give only from what we’ve been given. In the process, we bring praise to God’s name (v. 13).

Verse from Jeremiah

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭

God wants us to seek Him. In fact, He made us to seek him! Unfortunately, however, we often seek God along with the other things that draw our eye for a moment or two. And yet we wonder where is He. God is always there, just waiting for us to seek Him with all our heart. 

Verse from 2 Corinthians

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Though capable of great strength both physically and mentally, we’re easily crushed under the weight of this fallen, broken world. Paul experienced this personally. In 2 Corinthians 11, he described experiences that overwhelmed him (vv. 23-29). But God encouraged him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul resolved, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul had written, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed” (4:8). There’s hope, even though the strongest child of God knows all too well that this world is simply too much for us. We’re happily dependent on the strength of His grace if we are to endure. May we, like Paul, embrace our weaknesses so God’s power can carry us through.

Verses from Romans

At just the right time . . . Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

Flowers don’t have to be in bloom to be beautiful, says famed landscape designer Piet Oudolf. Even in the dead of winter, the Dutch gardener’s award-winning designs are known for their stunning appeal. “Beauty is in so many things you wouldn’t think of,” Oudolf says, although some may disagree. “The moment you say I love plants that are dead [dormant],” he said, “then you have a problem because people don’t like dead plants.”

Oudolf’s appreciation of plants’ life cycles echoes a core spiritual principle: While we were dead in our sins, God still loved us. “You see,” explained the apostle Paul, “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Paul continued, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8).

Jesus chose disciples with flaws. He ate meals with known sinners. He healed outcasts. Oudolf, likewise, is “interested in plants not only for their flowers, but also for their personality”—seeing beauty “in things that, on first sight, are not beautiful.”

As bearers of God’s image, we show Him to the world in how we relate to Him and each other. Planted in His love, we’re anointed by our Father to bloom anew in Him—once-dead sinners showing His beauty to a world longing for a glimpse of Him.