I am so incredibly grateful that The Lord included all these verses in The Bible. We can bring our cares, concerns, doubts, worries, fears, and even anger and despair to The Lord. He invites us to bring them all to Him honestly, since He knows our hearts and thoughts anyway. And one day, though it is painful and sorrowful now, we know that the suffering will come to an end and Christ will return and bring all things to restoration! He will make all things new! We who have put faith in His death and Resurrection for salvation will reign with Him in eternal joy in Heaven! Until He comes, may He continue to use us to be His agents of change on the earth and bring His love to all that changes everything. Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can't heal.
"For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my
groanings are poured out like water." (Job 3:24) "Therefore I will
not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will
complain in the bitterness of my soul." (Job 7:11) "Does it seem good
to You to oppress, to despise the work of Your hands and favor the designs of
the wicked?" (Job 10:3) "Man who is born of a woman is few of days
and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a
shadow and continues not." (Job 14:1-2) "If I speak, my pain is not
assuaged, and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?" (Job 16:6)
"Do You work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise
up to praise You? Is Your steadfast love declared in the grave, or Your faithfulness
in Abaddon? Are Your wonders known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in
the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, cry to You; in the morning my prayer
comes before You." (Psalms 88:10-13)
"Vanity
of vanities, says The Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
(Ecclesiastes 1:2) "For who knows what is good for man while he lives the
few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man
what will be after him under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 6:12)
"All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to
dust all return." (Ecclesiastes 3:20) "So I hated life, because what
is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving
after wind." (Ecclesiastes 2:17)
"A good
name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of
birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of
feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to
heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made
glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools
is in the house of mirth." (Ecclesiastes 7:1-4)
"O Lord,
how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to You,
'Violence!' and You will not save? Why do You make me see iniquity, and why do
You idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and
contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For
the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted." (Habakkuk
1:2-4)
"Righteous are You, O Lord, when I complain to You; yet I would
plead my case before You. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all
who are treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and
produce fruit; You are near in their mouth and far from their heart. But You, O
Lord, know me; You see me, and test my heart toward You. Pull them out like
sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter. How long
will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those
who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, 'He
will not see our latter end.' " (Jeremiah 12:1-4)
"Is there
no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the
daughter of my people not been restored?" (Jeremiah 8:22) "Oh that my
head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and
night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1)
“My eyes are spent with
weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the
destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in
the streets of the city.” (Lamentations 2:11)
"Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be
it from God that He should do wickedness, and from The Almighty that He should
do wrong. For according to the work of a man He will repay him, and according
to his ways He will make it befall him. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and The Almighty will not pervert justice." (Job 34:10-12)
"Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of
the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?" (Job 38:12-13)
“I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be
thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have
uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not
know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to
me.’ I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You;
therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6)
"Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from Heaven, and see; have regard
for this vine, the stock that Your right hand planted, and for the son whom You
made strong for Yourself." (Psalms 80:14-15) "Then we shall not turn
back from You; give us life, and we will call upon Your name! Restore us, O
Lord God of hosts! Let Your face shine, that we may be saved!" (Psalms
80:18-19)
“Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made
crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity
consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find
out anything that will be after him.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14)
“As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a
woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”
(Ecclesiastes 11:5)
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven: a
time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and
a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a
time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones
together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to
seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to
tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to
love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes
3:1-8)
"Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!Because I am doing something in your days—You would not believe if you were told." (Habakkuk 1:5)
“I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters
into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day
of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not
blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the
fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd
in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in The Lord; I will take joy in the God of my
salvation. God, The Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He
makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed
instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:16-19)
“Therefore thus says The Lord: ‘If you return, I will restore you, and you
shall stand before Me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is
worthless, you shall be as My mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not
turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with
you to save you and deliver you,’ declares The Lord. ‘I will deliver you out of
the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.’ “
(Jeremiah 15:19-21)
“O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let
me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You have I committed my cause. Sing to
the Lord; praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the needy from the
hand of evildoers.” (Jeremiah 20:12-13)
“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul
continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of The Lord never cases; His
mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your
faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in
Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It
is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of The Lord. It is good
for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when
it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust- there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with
insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He
will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He
does not afflict from His heart or grieve the children of men. To crush
underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, to deny a man justice in the presence
of the Most High, to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve.
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not
from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man
complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our
ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in
Heaven.” (Lamentations 3:19-41)
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment,
with every secret thing, whether good or bad.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
“And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with
a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to
serve Him. That evening they brought to Him many who were oppressed by demons,
and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was
to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and
bore our diseases.’ “ (Matthew 8:14-17)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven. For He makes His
sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the
unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not
even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what
more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You
therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew
5:43-48)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who
are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen
gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34)
“Then the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the
Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water
it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham who Satan bound for
eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?’ “ (Luke 13:15-16)
“Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fall at His feet,
saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He
was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled. And He said, ‘Where have
you laid him?’ They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept.” (John
11:32-37)
“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone
lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the
dead man, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has
been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you
believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people
standing around, that they may believe that You sent Me.’ When He had said
these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who
had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face
wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” (John
11:38-44)
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about
Him went out through all the surrounding country. And He taught in their
synagogues, being glorified by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been
brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and He stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of
the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor.’ And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the
attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.’ “ (Luke 4:14-21)
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
[a]
And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected
[b] by men;
a man of sorrows,
[c] and
acquainted with
[d] grief;
[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces
[f]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;[g]
when his soul makes[h] an offering
for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper
in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[i] and be
satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j]
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
(Isaiah 53)
“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit..." (1 Peter 3:18)
“ ‘…You made Him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned Him
with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet.’ Now in
putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control.
At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him
who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned
with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of
God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that He, for Whom and
by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the
founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For He who sanctifies and
those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to
call them brothers…” (Hebrews 2:7-11)
“For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who
are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in
every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with
confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)
"When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers ahead of Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for Him. But the people did not receive Him, because His face was set toward Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw it, they said, 'Lord, do You want us to tell fire to come down from Heaven and consume them?' But He turned and rebuked them and He said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives but to save them.' And they went on to another village." (Luke 9:51-56)
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)
"For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died- more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For Your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:18-39)
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:1-8)
"He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21)
