Intentional and Patient

As I was, once again, fretting about test results yesterday, the Lord gently pushed me toward the Psalms and in its pages He gave me a place to rest and be calmed. As His will determined it, I picked up my reading at Psalm 27. The entire Psalm is pretty amazing, but today, I want to bring up verses 13 and 14:

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord 

In the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord:

Be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord.

Reading these verses felt like waking up. As I struggled with the anguish of the unknown, wrestled with my own soul to allow His peace to cover me while I combatted the enemy’s fiery arrows of deceit, these words, His words, The Word, came to my rescue, putting things into perspective.

Like we always say, God IS Good, and He is good ALL the time, for He cannot be anything else, but Good! Sometimes, however, we tend to think that His goodness and/or the fruits of it won’t come to us until after we cross to the other shore and enter into Heaven. However, is that placing a limitation on God’s power? By thinking that way, are we not implying that God’s jurisdiction does not include this world? Are we forgetting that He reigns over ALL!?

I guess, sometimes, I do forget. I know I do limit Him. I’m guilty of doubt and shaky faith.

That’s why He, in His infinite love for me, and for all His children, kindly reminds me and all of us that His goodness knows no boundaries. The power of His hands extends limitlessly, and His will is done in Heaven AND in earth.

The goodness of the Lord IS in the land of the living, among the pestilence, the wars, the death, the illness, the heartache and all the loss, He is King, His light bursts through, His love endures.

Appreciating His goodness in the midst of this world’s tragedies and darkness, however, is not easy. We need to exercise some discipline. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to make us intentional and patient.

Intentional: we need to be intentional to be confident. When we are intentional about getting to know God and His nature, we gain all the confidence we need to look beyond what things may seem, and see with the eyes of faith. When we are intentional about being confident we discover the beauty out of the ashes (Isaiah 61: 3). This way, we realize how that gorgeous sunset was created just for us, that out-of-this-world flower was designed just for our enjoyment, that soaring bird was put here to bring us hope, and the laughter of our kids within our hearing range was intended to bring joy to our hearts.

Patient: we need to be patient so we can take heart and wait for the Lord to show Himself in every situation that we go through. Patience helps us wait for Him to work out the good in all circumstances in His own time (Romans 8: 28). Patience develops our character and brings up the hope that never disappoints (Romans 5: 4-5).

It is therefore, doable if we are willing to allow Him to “teach us His way and lead us in a straight path.” (Psalm 27: 11)

May the Holy Spirit let us find rest in His hiding place, where all our fears disappear. Peace is possible; peace is real…even while we’re still here, in the land of the living.