Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

In this world, sometimes we are going to be a proverbs 31 woman and sometimes in the midst of pain and trouble, we are going to be a psalm 31 woman. We will have those seasons of distress and desperation like David did when he wrote this psalm. Line by line you can feel David's pain and his desperation for the Lord. At one point David writes "I am a broken vessel" and I think that is a key phrase in this psalm. The Lord often calls us to come to Him as a broken vessel. Once you admit those words like David did, then the Lord can begin to heal and work in your life.

In 2 Corinthians Paul says Christ's power is made perfect in weakness. Paul said this AFTER he asked the Lord to take away the thorn that was causing him so much pain. The Lord did not accept his request so Paul's attitude changed through prayer from Lord get rid of this anguish to Lord I will glory through this anguish because You are bringing me into a deeper relationship with You and working something special in my life. It is okay to ask God to fix something in your life, but don't grow weary if He doesn't move right away. He is working in your life in a way that you can not see yet and His power will be revealed to you in a way you haven't seen before. Painful seasons sometimes become the most intimate seasons with the Lord. God stretches you, God grows you, He transforms you in a way that you would have never done on your own.  

David says multiple times in this psalm, "I trust in the Lord". That is what we have to do even if it's hard. If you're in a season of troubles, trust in the Lord. The Lord promises us throughout scripture that He will turn our anguish to joy. His promises are unfailing..Be of good courage and trust in the Lord. He will strengthen the heart of those who hope in Him. Take each day one at a time, stay in His word, pray without ceasing and trust that the Lord will bring joy in the morning.