Maybe when God wants to accomplish something, He marks it with struggle so humans know their limits and give all glory to Him.
When you have cancer or a life-threatening illness or crisis, you tend to pay closer attention to Bible verses which once may have read like a nursery rhyme.
Asaph’s spirits lifted when he began to recount God’s past wonders on his and Israel’s behalf. He needed to view his current struggles in light of God’s history of compassion and deliverance. Then he could encourage himself that God was indeed up to something good… again.
If we grasp both the heights of God’s holiness and the depths of our own sin, we will not approach God with a sense of entitlement. Instead we will humbly approach Him on the basis of grace – His unmerited favor.