My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12.9

God promises that he is "near to those who have a broken heart." Psalm 34.18.
We all go through difficulties, hard times, and tragedies. We feel weak and discouraged and sometimes, helpless.
God's grace is sufficient for us during difficult times and His arms are always willing to give ~ but are we willing to receive what he has for us?
Remember this: 2 Peter 1.3. For His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
Trust God. Believe God, and stand firm on what He has for you.

It is important to look at things from God's point of view. I Corinthians 4.6

For most of us, the world is very busy and complicated; filled with so much turmoil that it can be overwhelming. Then we have our own personal issues and the daily grind. The title verse reminds us to slow down and turn our thoughts towards God.
Psalm 46.10: Be still and know that I am God. We need God's peace and joy in our lives! Has there been a time lately that you have carved some time in your schedule for you and God? Just the two of you, talking about world issues, personal issues and just sharing your heart with Him? Listening?
We really need to do this on a daily basis. We need God's wisdom, guidance and perspective. We need to feel His love in our lives and to share that love with others so that we can make a difference in the world.

I will hope continually and will praise You more and more. Psalm 71.14

Praise opens the window of our hearts, preparing us to walk more closely with God. Prayer raises the window of our spirit, enabling us to listen more clearly to the Father. Max Lucado
Don't be so legalistic that you have to compartmentalize your praise-time into a certain time of the day. Worship and praise should be woven into the fabric of our life, just like breathing. Not just into a corporate time of worship on Sunday mornings. The awesome-ness of our God should  ignite us in the morning with such thoughts of honor and praise towards Him that we start praising Him before we get out of bed and our feet touch the floor! Think of it, GOD is our Father!!!
In my personal life I have found that praise is the best weapon I have to defeat Satan with each morning. I can sometimes feel a "heaviness" in my spirit and turn on some praise music and the heaviness is lifted! Satan and his demons cringe at the sound of Gods kids praising their Dad!
Mrs. Charles Cowan, the author of the classic devotional text, Streams in the Desert, wrote, " Two wings are necessary to lift our souls toward God: prayer and praise. Prayer asks. Praise accepts the answer."
The best time to praise God is all day. Every day. With all of the zeal we can. And thanksgiving in our hearts!

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and mountains crumble into the sea. Psa. 46.1-2

We will encounter adversity. Its our choice how we choose to deal with it.
As believers, we know that God loves and protects us. If we are going through difficult times, he is there to comfort us. In times of sorrow, he will dry our tears. God is always with us. It is comforting to know that God doesn't permit any troubles to come upon us unless He has a plan by which blessings can come out of the difficulty.
To quote Rick Warren, "Your greatest ministry will likely come our of your greatest hurt."
Go to God in prayer with your problems. Trust Him to answer.  Believer He will answer. It will be the biggest faith builder in your life to watch Him at work. It may not be in your timing, but remember, God is never late, He's always on time.

Knowing God leads to self-control. Self control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. 2 Peter 1.6

It seems that everyday, stong negative emotions can grip us. God's will is that we don't live out of those negatvie emotions. Distrust them, test them, and give them over to God.  Emotions change, God does not.
In Hebrews 10.38, God teaches us that we should live by faith. We must place faith above our feelings. Gods intent is that we don't live on emotional roller coasters, as a matter of fact, Jesus left us with His Peace, that incredible gift to all believers!
C.S. Lewis gave us some great advice: "Don't bother much with your feelings. When they are humble, loving, brave, give thanks for them; when they are conceited, selfish, cowardly, ask to have them altered. In neither case are they you, but only a thing that happens to you. What matters most is your intentions and your behavior."
Emotions...who's in charge of yours?

And everything ~ whatever you ask in prayer, believing ~ you will receive. Matthew 21.22

Do you carve out time each day to connect with God?  If not, I encourage you to make it a priority!  Life isn't a destination; its a journey that unfolds everyday. Who better to go on the journey with you , than God!
Daily prayer and meditaion is a matter of will and habit. God promises that the prayers of a righteous man or woman will accomplish great things. God does answer prayer, but sometimes his answers aren't in accordance with our desires. That's why He is God ~ He knows whats best for His children.
The quality of your spiritual life will be in direct proportion to the quality of your prayer life. Prayer not only changes things, it changes you. God is always listening , He is always available and He desires to hear from you.
Prayer shouldn't be casual or sporadic, dictated only by the needs of the moment. Prayer should be as  much a part of our lives as breathing. Billy Graham

I will send you the Advocate ~ the Spirit of truth. John 15.18

Before Jesus went to be with His Father, he left us promises that need to be taken seriously and that we should really be excited about!
" I am leaving you with a gift ~ peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So do not be troubled or afraid."
God gives us peace, our responsibility is to now allow our emotions to control us. This takes practice but who doesn't want to enjoy peace?
Once again, Gods goodness! What kind of witness can you be when the world around you is in turmoil and you hold your peace? You will have something that they want! How exciting!