His Encouragement: Keep On the Sunny Side

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Welcome! Welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every week, I join a few blogging friends to bring you a Bible passage and a little hope-filled discussion. We pray that these devotionals help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you.

Today’s Scripture:

The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down.

Psalm 50:1, NKJV

This week should have been one filled with joy and celebration. Yesterday was my husband’s 40th birthday, and we had various plans and little surprises planned for him all week long.

Then Tuesday, around lunchtime, I received a text from my husband and noticed that I had missed three or four calls from him while I was in my department’s staff meeting. I knew instantly that something had happened.

My husband’s uncle passed away Tuesday morning. He had been sick for a few months, in the hospital twice, and had surgery but everyone had thought he was on the mend. Unfortunately, his 92-year-old mother found Uncle B. unresponsive. She called my in-laws in a panic when she could not wake him. My father-in-law said: “Mom, call 911!” before racing out the door.

The paramedics arrived and tried to revive Uncle B., but he had already passed. They believe it was a heart attack.

The family was in shock.

My husband’s elderly grandparents live 30-45 minutes away from town and now they will be all alone. There is a lot of uncertainty in the near future, and a lot of grief as Uncle B. was the youngest of his four siblings and well-liked by all of his nieces and nephews.

It seems my family has been experiencing a lot of sorrow lately. September 27th marks the one year anniversary of my mom’s death. My sister then lost her mother-in-law in March. Now my husband’s uncle, whom he was pretty close to. It has been hard.

But there has also been some rays of sunshine breaking through the clouds, like the birth of our third son, Pumpkin, in June.

Keep on the sunny side

All week long, my husband and I have been watching Ken Burn’s special Country Music on PBS, and one song that seemed to come up over and over again was “Keep On the Sunny Side” by the Carter Family (and covered countless times since).

The third verse especially touched me this week:

Let us greet with a song of hope each day
Though the moment be cloudy or fair
Let us trust in our Savior always
To keep us every one in his care

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way
If we’ll keep on the sunny side of life

Keep On the Sunny Side
– The Carter Family

And with this song in my mind, a ministry I follow shared Psalm 50:1 with the beautiful words: “The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down.”

Yes, sometimes life is full of sorrows, dark and troubled times but there is a sunny side, too, if we look for it.

Sometimes life is full of sorrows but there is a sunny side, too, if we look for it. Share on X

Let us always trust in our Savior and allow His love and the promises of His Word brighten our darkest days with hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Friend, I don’t know your struggles but God does. James tells us “that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11)

God loves you.

Take all of your pain, your sorrows, your anger, your confusion, your worries – whatever it is that you are going through – and let Him deal with it.

Share your thoughts!

What verse has touched your heart this week? Share in the comments below!

Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday as well:

• Trisha of Joy of Reading
• Nicole of The Christian Fiction Girl
• Jessica of A Baker’s Perspective
• Becca of The Becca Files
• Gina of Stories by Gina
• Rev. Rebecca Writes
• Andi of Radiant Light
• Leslie of Words of Hope
• Claudia of By Claudia Moser
• Keneesha of Women Loving God’s Way

Hi there, blogger. Would you like to join us in sharing encouragement from the Word of God every Thursday? Don’t be shy! Contact Trisha or Nicole today!

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Featured Photo by Zwaddi on Unsplash.