From Jeffrey R. Holland, his book ‘For Times of Trouble:’
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
Quite regularly in life we all have the personal, even painful need for relief from some kind of despair, “Hear my prayer.”
If that relief is not as immediately forthcoming as we would like, we must remember that in those times of distress, God “enlarges” us, makes us grow, makes us stretch, requires more of us than we are wanting (or sometimes willing) to require of ourselves. Our purpose in life is to grow in godly ways, to be enlarged in such virtues as faith, hope, and charity, patience, perseverance, and strength. If that growth must come through sorrow, distress, or grief, then so be it. It will be all right in the end. One who would learn to run must first learn to walk, and one who would walk must first learn to stand. We are pursuing a divine plan that will one day lift us above all distress, but it will take many prayers—and many answers to them—before we are victorious. With Isaiah I say, take heart:
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?. . .
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. . . .
“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”30
Thus, distress enlarges us, eventually lifts us as “with wings [of] eagles.” Stay in the race. Keep running. Keep walking. Keep praying. The Lord will renew your strength.
~Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble (Deseret Book, Salt Lake City; 2012). 20-21
