Faith, Hope, and Love

As I'm writing this (on Saturday), I'm on one of the darkest paths of my life.  My friends and I have been praying fervently that I would see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But still ... darkness.

I know I'm in good company when I can relate to the words of David in Psalm 6:

My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?

Psalm 13, as well:

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?

Here's the question:  Can I also relate to these words from Psalm 13?

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

My heart rejoices?  Really?  Can I say that at this very moment?

YES!

Even though I'm still walking in darkness ... even though it's exceedingly difficult to accept No or Wait as an answer ... I can trust in His unfailing love.  I see it every day.

1. I see it through my husband, who holds me and supports me.  He doesn't understand--any more than I do--why I'm crying, but he loves me through it all.
2. I see it through my son, who hugs me and tries to make me laugh when he knows I feel sad.
3. I see it through my friends--in "real life" and online--who call or send email to ask how I'm doing. These friends pray for me when I'm down and rejoice with me when I'm up.
4. I see it when I'm reading the Bible. Our God is a God of hope, and His Word reflects that. When I read, I see countless reminders of His promises and His faithfulness.
5. I see it when I remember how good He has been to me along the way.  I just searched my blog for previous posts on hope and the promises of God, and I found at least five:

• Thankful Thursday, January 28 (His faithfulness)
• Thankful Thursday, May 6 (hope)
• Be Still and Know (trusting in His promises)
• Bring the Rain (spiritual growth through affliction)
• Trusting God -  Even When Life Hurts (book review with some of my favorite passages)

Is it easy to endure the darkness?  Oh, definitely not.  But I know that God has a plan, even though I don't know what that plan is.  And in His mercy--and yes, His unfailing love--He has given me His Word, His promises, and "Jesus in skin."

So yes,

... I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

How has He been good to you?

image credit:  Flickr user net_efekts