My Favorite Bible Verses

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You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy

(Psalm 30:11 NIV).

The day had started by oversleeping and went downhill from there. My mistakes had been too numerous to count. And now dinner would require another night of takeout. While waiting for the pizza, I felt the need to do something constructive. I whipped out the vacuum cleaner; but in my haste, I managed to catch the scatter rug and burnt the fan belt.

“I did it again!”

“What good am I?” I said through my tears.

After repairing the vacuum cleaner, he handed me a cup of coffee accompanied with a hug. “I love you,” he said, “and I wouldn’t trade being married to you for all the money in the world.”

Frustration dissipated on the spot. Being loved completely in spite of my blondness was just the affirmation I needed.

We need encouragement the most when we’ve failed the worst.

Jeremiah had the job of foretelling the great devastation awaiting the people of Judah because of their fierce disobedience. Called “the weeping prophet,” Jeremiah listed the evils of a once devout people that even included the sacrifice of innocent children. Yet, within the condemnation, God’s encouragement continues. The prophet reminds the people:

God is still in control (c18), he provides for their needs (c29), and he will renew hope by restoring their hearts (c32). In one of the most moving chapters of Jeremiah, the prophet reminds us of God’s unconditional love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Even King David, the man after God’s own heart, was held accountable for his poor choices. He’d committed adultery and caused the death of an innocent man. David’s sin was publicly revealed, and the consequences of his choices would impact future generations. Still, he found encouragement in God’s continuing love for him: You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy (Psalm 30:11 NIV).

Joseph was cast into prison, not because of his sin, but because of the lies of his master’s wife. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, he found some success in his new land. Now he faced the possibility of rotting in obscurity. He did not know how God would use this circumstance to plant seeds for a different future, one Joseph could not have possibly imagined. God would make him second only to Pharaoh, thus saving the Israelite nation from extinction. In the meantime, God upheld Joseph even through the darkest days of his life.

Whether our failures are a result of our own wrongdoing or are the consequence of another’s corrupt behavior, God stands in the wings ready to turn our wounds into monuments of blessings. However, in order for him to do so, we must surrender to his discipline.