Every morning at the FCA National Support Center in Kansas City, we circle up in our Hall of Champions for a time of prayer at 8:30 a.m. We come together to pray over our FCA staff, athletes and coaches across the country; about events in the ministry; about things going on in the world; about personal requests—just whatever needs to be prayed for that day. During our time, we also read a Psalm of the week. What better way to kick off a time of prayer than by reading such real and authentic passages, many of which display raw emotions of every kind?

This week, we are reading Psalm 32. It’s such an amazing piece of Scripture, and, just like many of David’s Psalms, it takes you through deep challenges only to wind up in praise. David did that a lot. He’d be completely real with God about his anger or sadness and then close by saying essentially, “But, God, I know You are good, and I’m going to praise You and trust You.”

What a great reminder for today! Yes, life is hard. Yes, it’s full of challenges. But, at the end of the day, God is good and in control. We may not be able to see it, but, by faith, we can choose to believe that in His love for us He has a perfect plan for our current situation.

Now, I know that if you are in the middle of a really difficult circumstance, this message may not be easy to hear. Maybe you’re battling a life-threatening disease. Maybe you’ve just lost a loved one. Maybe you’re injured and facing the fact that you may never compete in your sport again. Or, maybe you just had a bad morning and all you want to do is crawl back in bed. Either way, you may not want to hear a Susie Sunshine message right now. But maybe it’s what you need.

Let’s face it. No matter what we’re going through right now, Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 4:17 still carry an important reminder: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Hallelujah! Praise God! Yes, the world may be crashing down around us. Yes, we may have lost our job, our starting positions, our last race, our health, or our minds, but God is still good, and His faithful love endures forever (Psalm 100:5). And, if nothing else, we can cling to the hope we have through Christ, whose life, death and resurrection have secured for us a home in eternity with Him where there will be no more sorrow and no more pain.

Today, no matter what you’re going through, remember that it’s a good day. It really is. Cry and scream if you need to, but remember in your soul that you are victorious through Christ and loved beyond measure.