I was grieving for time lost, dreams delayed. I was grieving hard. I prayed from the place of a broken heart.

Then the Holy Spirit did something incredible and very effective to comfort me. Verses of Scripture began coming to me. I can’t remember how they came to me. I can’t remember how it all happened. All I know is that I rather quickly had this list of verses, and I was miraculously comforted, so it had to be the work of the Holy Spirit, since He is the Comforter. I’ve kept them close, but I want to share them with you in the order they came.

“He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer” (Psalm 102:17 NKJV).

“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Psalm 147:1).

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own border’” (Jeremiah 31:16-17).

“‘And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed’” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

“‘Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted’” (Matthew 5:4).

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel:
‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you’” (Isaiah 43:1-2).

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

“He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

He called me blessed, heard, rewarded, His, healed.

Most of these verses remind us of things God will do for us when the journey is difficult—when we are grieving, feeling destitute, in the heat of the battle, feeling hopeless, or have a broken heart—but the second and third verses remind us of two things we can do: praise and trust. Those two verses gave me direction, steps to take.

I hope these verses remind you today that even when it is so difficult you don’t know how you can go on, God has you. He has you.