READ: PSALM 116

When I was fifteen, my grandma passed away. I had never dealt with a loss like that before, at least not one I remembered well (I had been much younger when my grandpa passed away). I was devastated.

It was a hard time, and I couldn’t imagine her being gone. I wanted more time with her. In the midst of my sadness and grief, I was reading in the book of Psalms and came across Psalm 116. It might not seem like the most significant psalm to everyone who reads it, but at the time, it was just what I needed. I sort of claimed it as my psalm after that. I would read it over and over again.

That psalm helped me through some of the hardest days of my teen years. It still has a special place in my heart over a decade later. I love reading Psalm 116 because I remember how much it comforted me then, and because it still reminds me of God’s comfort and goodness.

Have you ever come across passages in the Bible that really speak to you? It can be so meaningful to claim books or chapters or verses as your own and memorize them or read them over and over again.

The Bible is such a rich gift that God has given us. He has so much to offer us in His Word. He longs to comfort us in times of grief, and He is eager to reveal who He is and how much He cares about us. And the entire Bible points to Jesus. God became human and lived among us, ultimately dying on the cross for us and rising from the grave, so that everyone who trusts in Him can live with God forever. We can find hope in this good news all throughout the Bible, at any time in our lives. • Bethany Acker

• Have you ever come across a Bible verse or passage that God used to speak to you in a special way? What was it?

• Have you ever tried to memorize Scripture or read the same chapters or books in the Bible over and over? How could these practices help us understand the Bible, and the God who gave it to us, in deeper ways?

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Psalm 116:1 (NIV)