A Verse for When... Life's Little Letdowns are Piling Up
I found a verse I LOVED the other day! Let me share with you how I came to it.
You’ve heard the phrase, “when it rains, it pours,” right? Why does this have to be so true?! Frustrating as it is, it seems to be reality every so often in my life. For example, in the span of one month this past fall, my car was in the shop getting worked on three different times… On the bright side, I got some new brake rotors, a new starter, and then had a loose cable on my new starter tightened up. On the darker side, my bank account took a hit. You know what I’m talking about!
Overlapping with my lovely car troubles, I had a string of other little frustrations and disappointments. Nothing bad enough to provoke a bout of heartfelt sobbing, but enough to trigger at least some warranted sighs. I needed a plumber twice, a close friend’s son passed away, a couple different holiday traditions changed because of people who were sick, my kitchen floor flooded, a visit from a friend didn’t go the way I expected, my favorite neighborhood coffee shop closed its doors, and then, to top it all off, the Chiefs lost on Christmas day. How dare they?
I definitely realize that in the grand scheme of life, most of these things are fairly inconsequential. In fact, many of them dealt with material items that I’m privileged to even have. But when unexpected situations pile up one on top of the other, it’s hard not to get discouraged. The Bible tells us to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), but that’s difficult to do when it feels like life keeps delivering blow after blow. And even “baby” blows start to feel more serious when they’re compounded upon multiple other “baby” blows.
But I just love the Bible so much. I sat down at a coffee shop for some much needed time in the Word, and God led me right to a verse that I’m almost certain He put in the Bible just for me. I was reading in Isaiah 35, which is a beautiful chapter about the life and joy of God’s redeemed people. Read it! It talks about feeble hands being strengthened, weak knees being steadied, and a highway built solely for believers to walk on that will lead into God’s presence. When Jesus returns, streams will burst forth from deserts, dangerous animals will be subdued and creation will see and reflect the glory of the Lord. Wow!
And at the very end of Isaiah 35, the second half of verse 10 says about the redeemed people of God, “Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” When I read and soaked in this verse, I felt God saying to me, “All of your ‘little’ disappointments? The ones that don’t necessarily make you sob, but do make you sigh? I see them, and they matter to me.” It’s not just sorrow that He addressed in this verse, but also sighing–those bummer moments of life that maybe don’t cause deep sadness, but do make us sigh in discouragement. God cares about our small moments of disappointment and frustration. Nothing is too frivolous or inconsequential to be worthy of His time and attention.
So the next time you’re feeling ‘little’ disappointments pile up, and maybe you’re even feeling a bit guilty over how much you seem to be affected by them, relax, take a deep breath and turn to Isaiah 35:10b. First, remember that one day anything that causes sorrow and sighing will “scurry into the night,” as The Message translation states. Then, remember that God sees and cares about all the seemingly tiny details of your life. You can talk to Him about anything, big or small, and He will be there to meet you with the validation and encouragement you need.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. -Isaiah 35:10b