Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
Isaiah 38:17 (NIV)
Father God today I thank You for the troubles, hardships, pain, and anguish that I go through. Whether it is sickness in my body or that of a loved one, disappointment, strained relationships, or just things not going my way, I know that it is for a purpose. Even as Hezekiah prayed and acknowledge, I declare, “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered.” I know that there is a reason for all things, that nothing comes my way except if first passes through Your hands, and that in the end You will uphold me because You love me.
Therefore, I thank You today for Your continued kindness and care for me. I thank You that no matter how bad things may seem to me in the moment that they are not as bad as they could be, the pains being held back by Your providential care and love for me. I thank You because I know that all that I have gone through, am going through, and will go through is but for some divine reason, one that I may not know on this side of eternity, but one that will indeed make me better to Your glory. You are purging me, refining me, making me better. It is not meant to break me but to make me better. And in the midst of it all, You have cast my sins into the sea of forgetfulness through Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!
So I pray today that You would enable me to endure hardships and continue to declare to all whose eyes are upon my condition that You are a great God, filled with love and compassion, showing Your tender mercies to undeserving souls like myself. Let not just my words but my life reflect my trust and dependence upon You. Strengthen my wavering legs that I might stand before all assured and confident in Your sure delivery. Continue to remind me of Your unfailing love as I place my hope in You by the power of the Holy Spirit to Your glory in Jesus’ Name. Amen.