“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.”

Psalm 16:9

My husband and I still remember a period of several months when changes and hardships seemed unrelenting. Most of these circumstances were outside our control, which is what made this season so difficult. Your own seasons of suffering like this might come to mind — the cancer, the miscarriage, the home destroyed in a hurricane, the lay-off, the car accident, the pain inflicted by a friend or family member, or something else. Many of us could also not have predicted one year ago that we would experience a pandemic. 

No one is immune to change or suffering. We can pay the bills, master a routine, work hard in school or at work, worship and obey God, and love those around us as best we can. But suffering will still come because this world is broken from the effects of sin.

David (the author of Psalm 16) knew everything in life is subject to change, but he knew something else, too: God remains unchanged. This is why he could declare with confidence, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” 

What changes or hardships are you experiencing? What seems uncertain or undependable right now? Voice those concerns in prayer to God, who Psalm 46:1 says is “a very present help in trouble.” 

When everything around you seems unstable, God is stable. God is not subject to change. This is why our hearts can be glad and our whole being can rejoice like David did. Even our bodies can rest because of the hope we have through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. 

PRAYER: God, I rejoice in the truth that you are faithful. When everything else around me is changing, you are unchanging. Thank you for always being present and hearing my prayer. Thank you for sustaining my life. Help me to rest with all of my being in the hope that you give through the resurrection of your Son.