Believing and Seeing the Goodness of God

Life, as you know, is full of ups and downs, peaks and valleys. We can soar up on the wings of emotion one moment, and plummet the very next into what one of my favorite fictional characters terms, “The depths of despair.”

The ever-changing circumstances of life are inescapable for the saved and lost alike. The difference made by faith in Christ is intended to shine in the dark times of life, but what do we do when the trials of life threaten to overwhelm us?

Perhaps you have experienced times when life seems so hard, you feel like it’s all you can do to just hang on. This is how the psalmist felt when he wrote Psalm 27. He wrote,

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (v.13)

He felt like giving up. The pressure he faced seemed too great for him, and he would have been overcome by his trials, except for one thing:

He believed he would see the goodness of God.

Now, this is similar to the idea of “looking for a better country” in Hebrews 11, but where that refers to keeping a faith-filled perspective that looks toward heaven, this verse reminds us that we can trust God to show Himself good in this life as well!

When it feels like life is just too hard, that we just can’t go on this way, we need to remember that God’s goodness is still a reality. Whether or not we can see it clearly at this moment, we can choose to cling to the goodness of God, to hope with the sure hope of the Bible that we will indeed see His goodness, not only when life is over, but here in the land of the living.

I was asked this week to think of some Scripture to share with someone who was struggling with the possibility of a significant loss, and as I prayed through the verses that came to mind, I was reminded of this important truth: When the circumstances of life loom large we need to reacquaint ourselves with the vastness, strength, and goodness of our God.

So if the problems of life seem big to you, let this description of God wash over your soul and fill your heart and mind with the truth of God’s immensity, care, and compassion:

“He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out the heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counseller hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed to Him the way of understanding? Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” (Isaiah 40:11-15)

Feeling exhausted today? Run to our inexhaustible God!

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not grow weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (vv.28-31)

Notice the connection between feeling like fainting and waiting on God. Psalm 27 also makes this connection. Here is verse 13 again, with the next verse as well:

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Do you want to be strengthened, to shine forth the light of faith unflinchingly through all of life’s highs and lows? Wait on the Lord. When you feel it’s all just too much to bear, remember the words of Psalm 61:

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah.” (vv.1-4)

Cling to the bright certainty that God is good, and that you will see His goodness again, even if your eyes seem too dim with tears to see it now.

Believe to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, and choose to wait on Him, putting all your hope on Him. God has promised to strengthen your heart when you wait on Him and take courage in the fact that He is there, that He is forever unchanged and unchangeable.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” 

Psalm 62:5-8