Re-post of a hymn that always applies to you or someone you know.
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
This hymn draws extensively from Isaiah. See Isaiah 41:10, 51:10, 1:23,25
How Firm a Foundation
Hymn 85
When you repent and worthily partake of the sacrament, you can then “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). There is hope smiling brightly before you because of the Atonement of Christ.
. . . .
Because of Christ there is hope smiling brightly before you, and you need not worry too much about sickness, death, poverty, or other afflictions. The Lord will take care of you. Your responsibility is to keep the commandments, feast upon the words of Christ, and stay in the path to your heavenly home.
. . . .
With the hope of the Atonement and the Resurrection, you have a third great hope, the hope of eternal life. Because you have a Savior, you can plan for a future that extends beyond this life. If you keep the commandments, you are promised eternal life.
Sister Julie B. Beck
“There Is Hope Smiling Brightly before Us“, Ensign, May 2003, 103–5
After the death of his wife, American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow went into a long depression. For a period of three years, he was unable to write.
Following is the poem that brought him out of his despondency:
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A Psalm of Life
Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. The scriptures often speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active. Prophets speak of having a “firm hope” (Alma 34:41) and a “lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3). The prophet Moroni taught, “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).
When we have hope, we trust God’s promises. We have a quiet assurance that if we do “the works of righteousness,” we “shall receive [our] reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23). Mormon taught that such hope comes only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ: “What is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41).
Gospel Topics: Hope
If we are to respond to tribulation by either growing out of it or growing strong enough to bear it more easily, we must know that Christ is focused on saving us. We are often greatly tempted to doubt in times of immense pain. We doubt ourselves and our righteousness. We doubt that our God and our Savior are really paying much attention to us. Some wonder if there even is a God, and others feel that he has turned his back to them. These are the times of chastening, of tutelage, of testing, of preparation of our souls for a future harvest.
If you are not going to trust a loving father and a Savior who died to save you, who are you going to trust in a world full of difficulties? Do you think you can trust in yourself alone? Are you powerful enough to overcome all things? Do you always know the right answer?
I know good people who have experienced enormous trials and, as a result, have lost trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. These friends have allowed their great pain to swell into a consuming anger. They have then ironically directed that anger toward the only Beings who can relieve their pain. There is no solace in such anger nor is there any ability to keep adversity at bay by keeping God away. By responding angrily toward a loving Savior, the original tragedy is only compounded.
You may have had terrible experiences come into your life, experiences for which you bear no blame. Such life events may have scarred you deeply and damaged your ability to trust anyone or anything. In some ways, the pain of the innocent can exceed the pain of the guilty in this life. To you I would ask a simple question. Do you want to continue living in your world of pain? If you do not, I ask another question. Do you know how to move out of your world of pain?
Jesus Christ is the God of broken people, the God of the hopeless, the God of the violated innocent, the God of ruined lives, the God of those who weep without ceasing. He is also and always will be the God of fresh starts, the God of new lives, the God of inner peace. His greatest ministry is where there is the greatest pain. There is no place so dark that He will not enter and bring a gentle and warming light.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
David P. Vandagriff
I Need Thee Every Hour – Applying the Atonement in Everyday Life
(This is a repeat of one of my earliest posts. It was good for me to read it again and I hope it will help someone else as well.)
When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv’rance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.
We’ve proved him in days that are past.
We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet
Hymn 19