"Through It All"

Wonderings and wanderings,

And dead ends don’t you know,

Trials, yes, and troubles, too,

And going fast and slow.

Twists and turns and ups and downs,

And disappointments sad,

Times when we were full of hope,

And down when things went bad.

Buckin’ horses, crazy cows,

And ropin’ in the pasture,

Cowboy stuff a-horseback then,

And tryin’ to be faster.

But in it all and through it all,

The sweat and blood and try,

The times we hit our lowest points,

And when we were most high.

The Good Lord brought us through it all,

Though at times we had our doubts,

And even though we felt that way,

Learned what grace was all about.

So we’ll keep on going,

Till we can’t when life is through,

And never stop when times get hard,

But live for all that’s true.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.” (1 Peter 1:6, NAS)

Life is an intense mixture of joy and pain, victory and defeat, and trial and blessing. We aren’t in heaven yet, though there are wonderful, heavenly moments all along the way. Jesus offers to give us abundant life, even though our trials are real and can be very distressing. What we do and how we respond when we’re going through the hard times both manifests and grows our character. Count it joy and keep on going!

Lord, help us keep on rejoicing even through the trials, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.