Notes on Hope Devotional — Grateful, yet Grieving

Remember and Rest

Psalm 116:5-7 (NIV)
     The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
    The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
    Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

Over the years, I have written dates next to verses in my Bible. As I’ve gone back, I remember what took place at that time, a significant experience where I connected with a particular verse. Today’s Scripture is underlined and has the date of 2/9/21 next to it in my Bible.

In December 2020, I was with my two adult children at the Grand Canyon. While they went on a walk, I hung back and waited for a phone call. My doctor called with the results of a biopsy I had the week before. She reported I had invasive ductal carcinoma (well-differentiated Stage 1 breast cancer). After a deep sigh, telling my kids, and praying, I let it sink in. It was a pause-and-stop moment for me to wait, trust, and hold on to hope. I had surgery four weeks later and started radiation in February.

These verses became a repeated chant to me. Reading “The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is full of compassion,” I was able to see who God is. “The Lord protects the unwary” (or inexperienced in the Christian Standard Version). Here’s where I see what God does. I was relying on God to be who He said He was and to do what He said He would do. Full of compassion, the Lord’s graciousness was evident as His protection surrounded me in the place I found myself: uncertain, inexperienced, fearful, and full of questions.

“When I was brought low, he saved me.” These words pumped air into my lungs. There was the hope I needed to carry me through. God was with me, for me, beside me, and protecting me.

Verse 7 gives the summary of the previous verses: It’s like, “Hey, look, remember who God is and what He has done!” “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

The Psalmist is giving a gentle nudge to “remember where you’ve been with God? Go back to that place where you’ve seen His grace and compassion.”

When we recall how God carried us through a season of waiting and trusting, we see evidence of His goodness, His grace, compassion, and unfailing faithfulness.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your compassion, graciousness, and faithfulness to us. Truly, You have been good to us. Help us remember to go back to the place where we’ve known the rest that only You can give us. We rely on Your great faithfulness while we trust and wait. In Jesus Name, Amen.