God's Goodness
in the land of the living
As the earth offers up her harvest and prepares for a long winter’s nap, I’m contemplating the difference a year can bring.
This time last year, Mom and I had just arrived in Arizona for a much-needed break to visit friends and family. It had been a year of great loss, and changes we hadn’t seen coming.
In September, Mom’s landlord of ten years announced they were selling the house, and she had to be out by the end of December. Suffice to say that, at 84 years old, this was not a move she was prepared for emotionally or physically. Since we had already scheduled our Arizona trip for November, we had less than three months to pack up and move.
I didn’t expect to be signing a lease on a house for Mom and me on my first wedding anniversary without my husband.
Looking back on those months now, the faithfulness of God overshadows all the stress, all the physical and financial challenges.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Truly, His ministering angels (Heb 1:14) were with us every step of the way.
Of course, He is always with us. We pray, “Lord, be with us,” or “Lord, be with so and so.” But God promised Joshua that He would never leave him or forsake him. And in Hebrews, the writer transfers that promise to every Believer. (Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5)
God is always with us and with us alway2.
We might be better off praying, “Lord, reveal Your presence to us, that we might know You better. That we might see You working in this situation.”
Truly, God’s faithfulness, His promise never to leave us or forsake us, manifests itself every day, in every situation of our lives.
So why don’t we see Him?
In the everyday, we often miss Him because our focus is on the temporal. We are so focused on our to-do lists that we forget that when we accepted Jesus as Saviour, we also accepted Him as Lord. We die to self and live to Christ. (2 Cor 5:15; Gal 2:20)
He has a purpose for our lives. That purpose isn’t a grand, one-act finale. It is to be lived out in our everyday lives. But we can’t serve Him if we don’t take time to seek His presence each day - through the reading of His word and prayer.
In every situation in our lives, we often miss Him because we’re overwhelmed by the adversity that has come upon us. Yet Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
“No temptation1 has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Can you see God working in *every* circumstance of your life, working things out for the good? (Romans 8:28) And if you can’t see Him, do you at least believe that He IS working - everything - for good?
Maybe you know it, but don’t yet believe it. That was me for a long time. Not anymore, praise be to God.
If you know it but don’t believe it, I encourage you to go back to the cross. Remember your condition before Christ. Recall what you deserved - death. Remember what He did for you: gave you life.
If you asked Him for bread, would He give you a stone? If you asked Him for a fish, would He give you a snake?
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)
You trusted Him for eternal life - now trust Him for this life.
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.” (Heb 13:20-21)
May God bless your harvest.
Amen.
PS Friend, if you’re not 100% certain that you’re going to heaven when you die, please read this article. It will show you, from God’s Word, how you can be sure. God bless you.
1 (πειρασμός - peirasmos - adversity)
2 (ἡμέρα - hēmera - forever) Matthew 28:20
Title based on Psalm 27:13
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/@veruschkade (verse added by me)
AI Disclaimer: No part of this blog was written by bots. Every word, typo, grammatical error, and witticism is lovingly and/or accidentally crafted by my own two (very human) hands.
And may God bless you and your Mom as you continue moving through this season of your lives. Your testimony is an inspiration, filled with hope in the One who loves us most.