The Goodness of the Lord

I was walking in my neighborhood this morning, looking up at the green treetops against the blue sky and I kept thinking, “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Do you know that verse? It’s Psalm 27:13 and it says, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” 

As I dropped my head back and smiled up at the leaves fluttering gently in the faintest breeze, I recalled certain times when I could barely see the light because the darkness felt so thick on every side. Everyone has those times. When circumstances loom and and there seems no end in sight to the suffering. When I think back and look for it, I can see God’s provision was there, often in some small but nourishing form. Sometimes it seemed it was just enough to take the next step ahead of me.  And the step always held. 

Today though, I was enjoying the gift of an oasis of joy—maybe not a glimpse of heaven. That’s too dramatic. But something like the fragrance of it. A reminder of the beauty that’s real and true and greater than any suffering. 

If you happen to be in one of those times of deep suffering, I’m so sorry. I pray that you would call to mind God’s provisions, even the ones that were just for a moment. Hold on and don’t despair. You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living again. 

~Amy