Life is Hard...But God is Good

You turn the key, then close the door behind you
Drop your bags on the floor
You reach for the light, but there's darkness deep inside
And you can't take it anymore
'Cause sometimes living takes the life out of you
And sometimes living is all you can do

Life is hard
The world is cold
We're barely young and then we're old
But every falling tear is always understood
Life is hard
But God is good

You start to cry 'cause you've been strong for so long
And that's not how you feel
You try to pray, but you don't know what to say
So you just quietly kneel
In the silence of all that you face
God will give you His mercy and grace
Jesus never said it was an easy road to travel
He only said that you would never be alone
So when your last thread of hope begins to come unraveled
Don't give up
He walks beside you
On this journey home
And He knows...

Life is hard
The world is cold
We're barely young and then we're old
But every falling tear is always understood
Life is hard
But God is good

(song by Pam Thum)

A few mornings ago I was doing some thinking, and for some reason this song came to my mind. This song was on the radio when I was in high school, and I had the accompaniment track that I sang to often in my church. It was definitely a favorite of mine. Looking back now, it almost makes me laugh to think of singing this song about life being hard when I was only 16. Needless to say, the song has taken on more meaning to me as I have lived more of my life and encountered much more difficult times.

I can remember the last time I sang this song in church. It was especially meaningful to me at the time because I was in the midst of trial. I was 25, and I had just undergone surgery to have a lump removed from my breast, which turned out to be benign. It was definitely a stressful time, but one in which God had his hand and proved himself faithful.

As life continues to happen, I find more meaning and encouragement from this song. As I was remembering this song the other day, the words of the second verse echoed the emotions of my heart at times in the recent past.

You start to cry 'cause you've been strong for so long
And that's not how you feel
You try to pray but you don't know what to say
So you just quietly kneel
In the silence of all that you face
God will give you his mercy and grace

So many times I feel like I am putting on a strong facade. So many times I have found myself knowing that I should pray, that I need to pray, but I really truly don't know what to say. I feel like I just keep saying the same thing to God. But there's something to be said for kneeling quietly before the throne and saying nothing, just resting at the feet of Jesus. In those times, God's mercy and grace are abundant. In my most recent trials, the only thing that has kept me going is to remind myself that no matter what...God is good.