My Dearest Sister,
As I sit in the field behind my apartment and enjoy the beautiful New York summer afternoon, I cannot help but reflect on the wonder of God’s creation. The songbirds chirp softly to each other as a honey bee darts from the Queen Anne’s Lace to a cluster of dandelions near where I am relaxing in the warm sunlight. There is a light breeze that washes over everything, making the cattail reeds dance and the trees whisper. I am reminded of the passage in Genesis where God finishes each of His creations by calling it good. Surely on a day like this, it would be impossible to disagree with such a conclusion. However I know in about six months this landscape will look completely different. When the flowers, birds, and sunshine have all been replaced by bare trees, gray skies, and three feet of snow on the ground, will I still be praising His creation? Honestly, probably not as readily as I am right now.
In our daily lives, our praise to God seems to work in a similar manner. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to thank God for His goodness when things are going just the way you wanted? When our family is healthy, our home is happy, and our relationships are blossoming, it seems so natural to have an attitude of thankfulness. However, when the storms of life roll in and all we can see is gray skies, that thankful demeanor tends to change. Maybe we receive bad news about a loved one, are facing challenges at work or in our marriage, or maybe we are just going through a season of spiritual dryness, a “wintertime” of the soul. Whatever the trial may be, praising God for His goodness is often the last thing on our mind.
But it shouldn’t be that way, dear sister. Even in the times when we seem to be caught up in a harsh winter season of life, we can trust in the Lord’s goodness toward us. Romans 8:28 says that “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” All things, not just those that make us happy and joyful. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how those storms and struggles could be a part of God’s design for our life. For example, if you had told me five years ago that today I would be married to a man in the Army, living over a thousand miles away from all my family, and still haven’t finished college, I would have said you were crazy. That’s not the plan I had mapped out for myself at all. However, as verse 28 says, this goodness is ultimately for His purpose. God’s ways are not our ways so His plan for our good sometimes includes challenges filled with sadness, disappointment, frustration, or loneliness. But that should be okay with us because you know what? Even those storms have a place in God’s good design for us. The last five years have proven that to me because I can see how each unforeseen struggle has brought me to a closer, more intimate relationship with Him.
The best thing about this goodness, sister, is that it will never fail us, for it lies at the very core of who God is. His mercy, compassion, lovingkindness, patience – all the things that make Him Lord – are directly related to the fact that He is inherently good. It sets Him apart from every other being in the universe, making Him alone holy and worthy to be praised. The ultimate evidence of this goodness is shown in His blessed gift of salvation. Who else could love a sinful, wicked people enough to send His only precious Son to die an excruciating, humiliating death so that they could spend eternity with Him? My dear friend, we can never overestimate the goodness of the Lord. I don’t think we will even really understand it in its entirety until we meet Him face to face. But one thing is for sure: we can trust in His goodness always, because nothing, not even the darkest, coldest winters of our life, can take away this assurance we have of His eternal grace toward us. So let’s praise God in every season of life and beyond for His dependable goodness!
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” – Psalm 100:4-5
In His love,
~ Lauren