Remember, O LORD,

in David's favor,

all the hardships

          he endured.

         Psalm 132. 1

(God has no problem

         remembering.

It is we who need

   a nudge to remember,

recall,

proclaim,

respond,

and acknowledge

  His faithfulness through

         thick and thin,

the chronicle of His faithfulness

  which is written in our lives.

Hardship is never

  a wasteland of suffering,

but the deep revealing

  of His Presence.

God redeems.

   Even this, even now,

   He is already redeeming.

Hardship is not failure

nor needless,

but a time when we realize

      our need for God.

And when others see

  not a thin facade

           of religiosity,

but God's deep inner strength

and His mark on our lives,

  no matter what we face.

What is our default?

Despair?

  Or trusting Him in it?

David endured

  because he sought God.)

O LORD,

We can trust You,

           Almighty One,

because You are working

a mightier work in us

  than this mystery,

  momentary affliction,

  discomfort,

  or even pain.

Grant to us Your strength

that we would not just

       squeak through,

   or barely survive,

but know even more

    You are God.

And we need You.

Replace our fear

  with trusting You.

You see us.

You hear us.

You come to us

     in our pain.

Help us to approach

         this hardship,

whatever it may be,

no matter how big

              or small,

or how long it lasts,

            differently,

because we trust You

     in it and through it.

You build in us

strength upon strength

        that is all Yours.