Take a Closer Look

Take a Closer Look

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Psalms 27:13

My whirlwind week of activities is finally coming to a close. From seminary graduation, mother’s day, my birthday, my wedding anniversary to high school graduation my life has been spinning from one activity to another. Each one should be fully celebrated in its own right but with the every other day arrival of a new celebration they have mixed together like a tossed salad. Each piece uniquely recognizable, but not allowed to stand on its own. Within the midst of this chaos I have been reminded of how good God has been to me even during the times I felt overwhelmed and disappointed.

You see,  so often our circumstances drain the joy out of our life experiences like the plug being pulled from a bathtub drain. We start out full of expectations and hope and end up cold, shivering, and empty. What we envisioned doesn’t materialize and we find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned.

What I want my life to be is not always the reality of what my life is-because life is not easy.  

Life is hard. Marriage is hard. Raising children is hard. Elderly parents are hard. Aging is hard. Finances are hard. Relationships are hard. Life is hard, but Psalms 27:11-14 tells us there is hope.

There is hope even in the midst of enemies.
There is hope that gives us strength and courage.
There is hope not just in the future but in today.
There is hope because He is our hope.

Our hope is not in our circumstances but in the God of all creation. The one who made us holds us in his hand. He watches over us. He guides us. He provides for us. He loves us.

His end game is the game plan that wins.

I deeply want to play the game of life God’s way. I want to be able to say in the end that the Lord is good, no matter what. I want to see the bigger picture. The bigger plan. The bigger outcome. I want my life to have a bigger meaning than just making it through one more day. I want to see the goodness of the Lord now as well as later.

Lamentations 3:25-26 states “The Lord is good to those who wait on him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Sometimes I need to stop and look to find the goodness of the Lord around me. Life may be hard, but in the middle of the struggle God is doing something good within me and around me if I open my eyes and heart to see it.

Today I am going to try to focus on God’s goodness instead of my disappointments because circumstances warrant a closer look. 

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 
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