In the musical Annie, the song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” takes the audience into the daily struggles of the orphans who live in the terrible orphanage run by Miss Hannigan. Every day, the orphans endure hard work with little payoff. Tears and heartache are part of their ongoing emotional roller coaster. The girls are sad, lonely, and often hopeless. As the song builds, the chorus of girls delivers a powerful line, “No one cares for you a smidge when you’re in an orphanage! It’s the hard knock life.”

Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”