How the Bible Can Help You Look Past Difficult Times

Sometimes challenges in our lives become so overwhelming that we are not sure they will ever turn around for us. One thing that has worked for me, is turning to the Bible to be inspired by God's word. My life has been full of difficult times that I sometimes would question if things would get better. Some people feel that you should not question what more will come my way, but when times just keep getting more difficult, you often wonder if God sees the struggles you are facing. I have questioned God many times and have found that by questioning, I turn to the Bible to read God's answer for my life and what He has planned. I have found these Bible verses to be the most important in my life to remind me of what is in store for my future.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). When my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, the prognosis did not look good for him. Watching my dad go through two years of chemotherapy was very difficult for me and wondering where he gathered his strength. One day as I was shopping, I found this crystal with this Bible verse inscribed inside the crystal. I brought it home to my father and as he started reading the inscription, he put the crystal down and spoke the verse out loud from memory. I knew from his voice where he gathered his strength, from God. Everyday my dad would repeat this verse and would tell me that he knew he was going die, but he knew that he would also have eternal life because God would give him a new life. I knew heaven would be a much better place for him and I kept the crystal as a reminder that God will one day bring me home and I will be reunited with my father. This was a difficult time for me after my father passed away, but when I read that verse out-loud I find comfort and strength as my father did.

"The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men" (Isaiah 29:13). This particular verse helps me to focus on what I learn from the Bible and from God. The preacher can teach us what the Bible says, but it is up to us to practice what is preached and what we read. Some people can go to church religiously, but they act very different outside of church and their hearts are not in the right place. You can preach to others what you know but if you do not live your life in the manner you preach, your heart is not close to God. I have certain people who will preach to me and my family and I am hurt by the words I receive, and my first reaction is to lash back. I read this verse and know that I have to bring my heart close to God and his word to keep me strong and teach my children not to act in this manner.

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:5). I first heard this verse in a religious class I was taking in college. This particular morning I was having a very difficult day, and was not paying much attention to my professor and thinking about the people who were causing me a lot of pain in my life. As the professor quoted this verse, I looked up and felt that he was talking to me personally. I had been sitting there trying to figure out a way to get even with these people and when I heard this verse, I knew what I needed to do. I was being accused of things that I did not do and what these people did not realize, this would not affect my family but another family that had become our friends. I respected this family and when these people started spreading rumors about me, we lost our friendship with this family. I was so hurt, but so was this other family. I understood how they felt betrayed by me, and I so wanted to tell them that these rumors were not true and that I would never have done those things to them. I was hurt that my husband thought I would have actually betrayed him and our marriage. We had just had a baby and that was a very special moment for us. That was also stripped away from me by all these rumors. This was such a difficult time for me and felt like I had been branded. We live in a small town and it did not take long for these rumors to spread around town. One day as I was shopping with my daughter in town, two ladies were talking about me and those rumors. I remember my eyes starting to tear up, and that moment I knew what I needed to do. That day I went to those people and quoted that scripture to them, and then realized I was doing the same thing they were. I read this verse to remind me not to judge others and keep my eyes clear to my own life.

"Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. Do not accuse a man for no reason- when he has done you no harm" (Proverbs 3:29-30). This verse goes hand-in-hand with the previous situation. I wanted so much to do harm to those people who hurt me and they actually lived right next door to me. I always felt that this verse was okay for me to live by because they did do harm to me and they were not trustworthy, so it would be okay if I brought harm to their family, not physical harm but emotional harm. I felt that they needed to be following this verse in their lives. I had never done anything to these people and was very nice to them. I do not know why people do the things they do, but it is for god to decide what happens to them and know that God will see me through the difficult times. I tell my daughter that we need to follow these scriptures in our daily lives and bring no harm to others and to treat everyone with kindness even if it is not shown to us because God will bless us and see us through any problem we face. I am teaching her from my experience how we should always find out the facts before we start to accuse others of wrongdoing because you can bring a lot of pain to someones life.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). I live strong by this verse and it comforts me every time I am going through a difficult time, which sometimes feels like everyday. I was facing a difficult situation one day and not knowing what was going to happen to me or my family scared me. My husband is the sole income in our our family because we have a child with special needs that has put us to the test financially. When you are used to having two incomes and then you go to trying to survive on one with medical bills that surpass what income is brought home, brings uncertainty from day to day. Sometimes our finances are so low, we are just not sure how we would survive until the next paycheck. I would tell my husband not to worry that God would provide for our family. One day in my Sunday school group we were reading different scriptures and I read this one out loud. I knew God was speaking to me at that moment and letting me know not to worry and to put my trust in him knowing he would provide for me and my family. I have this scripture posted on my refrigerator so tat I can see it every day and to remind me not to worry about the next day and just live for day to day, God will take care of the rest. God knows what the next day will bring for me before I even know what is going to happen, but I know what ever it is he will provide. I feel better when I do not worry so much because then I have to much to worry about and then I bring stress upon myself and my family.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). This verse has helped me through some recent difficult times, but will always remind me that God will set me free from all my burdens as long as I release my heart to him and let him do what he needs to with my life. There are many things in life that hold us captive and hold us in bondage to living a healthy life emotionally and physically. Anything can be a bondage to our lives if it is holding us captive and not letting us live free from what holds us down. We have to learn to break through of what holds us captive, which can be many things in life. For me, financial burden is my bondage, but I know God has brought me to a place in my life that he will provide for me and my family and will help break us free from this financial burden that we live from day to day. We are starting to see changes in our lives financially and I know all of this is because of God.

The Bible has many inspirational verses to offer each and every one us us. We just have to have an open mind and an open heart to let God's word in our lives. These verses that I have chosen are dear to me and my family, but I hope these might have some impact on others that might be looking for some inspiration through a difficult time.

New International Version Reference Bible