January 31 — When You are Hurting (Ps. 116:10-11)
       Psalm 116:10: “I believed; therefore I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.’”
       Psalm 116:11: “And in my dismay I said, ‘All men are liars.’”
       Verse 10: “I believed; therefore I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.’”
       The Psalmist is saying: “I believed that I would walk before the Lord in the land of the living and it has come true.”
       The Bible Knowledge Commentary says: “Faced with certain death, he knew that God was trustworthy, so he cried out to Him.” (877)
       Ron Allen says: “The apostle Paul understood that Psalm 116 prophesied the hope of Messiah in his own resurrection. Paul quotes Psalm 116:10 in 2 Corinthians 4:13-15: ‘It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.’ The words of this psalm, therefore, give not only the hope of Jesus for his life beyond death; this psalm is designed to give us confidence for life beyond the grave as well.”
       Chip Ingram says: “God knew what I was going through. He knew what needed to happen to me. All through that difficult process, God was intimately involved in working out his plan for my life. God knows you too. He is orchestrating everything in your life, even the very difficult things. Everything God allows happens for your ultimate benefit. He’s on your team. Therefore, he can be trusted. And that trust begins with our accepting by faith that what God has said about us is true.” (I Am With You Always, 101-102)
       Verse 11: “And in my dismay I said, ‘All men are liars.’”
 When you look at the concluding episodes in the life of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul, this statement is certainly true in the hour of their need. They both had to stand alone.
 When God turns up the heat in our lives, everybody wants to flee.
 Psalm 31:22: “In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help” (NIV).
 Lisa Beamer, whose husband lost his life on United Flight 93, gives this testimony: “‘I try to do what’s right, whatever the consequences,’ Lisa said. ‘You can’t be critical of anyone who is grieving. They don’t act the way they would under normal circumstances. You have to give them a grace period, to do what they need to do, and hope they come out healthier and stronger than they were to begin with.’” (Jerry Longman, Among the Heroes, 244-5)

 It seems most appropriate that we conclude our devotional time this morning by singing “Be Still My Soul”: “Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In ev’ry change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.  Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”