One or two things going wrong in my week aren’t the end of the world. I can handle a few bad things. I know that every week has its allotment of issues, and I’m used to dealing with that. I can generally stay quite cheerful and look on the bright side.

But last week was an exception. It seemed like something went wrong every day. I’m not talking about little nuisances, but some pretty big things. Every day held a surprise, and they weren’t happy ones.

We had a couple of accidents—not major ones, thank God, but the kind that are hassles and result in extra expenses. We had some health issues, extra doctor’s appointments and concerns. We worried, as storm after storm lashed different parts of the world where we have friends and loved ones.

Every day, something new came up. It made me wonder if God was going to get tired of me calling out to Him yet again about some new challenge. Does He run out of sympathy after a while and decide not to answer the phone when He sees it’s me, yet again, on caller ID?

What I realized from this difficult week of calling out to God is that He hears. He never gets tired of listening. He never stops picking up the phone when I call. He’s always there to listen, to offer advice and direction. He’s there to calm my heartrate and pick me up when I don’t feel like moving forward. He’s there to comfort me and restore the joy of the Lord. And He works things out.

If I had any doubt about God’s care and protection, I saw it in person last week. I saw His hand move and heal us when we needed healing. I saw Him protect us when scary things happened. I saw Him take care of loved ones and help them through potentially dangerous situations. I saw Him work a few quiet miracles. I saw Him stop and listen every time I called out to Him, and answer every time I cried.

The result of my very bad week is that I’m reminded that with God’s help I can handle anything that comes my way. At the end of the week, my faith is secure, and I’m confident that whatever problems or challenges I face, He will work them out. There may be storms or accidents or mistakes or problems, but ultimately, I can trust God to help me through. And with Him, I can look forward to next week and whatever it brings.