How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?...But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:2, 5-6
“O, the Lord’s been good to me, and so I thank the Lord…” is a well-known song and prayer for children. Even preschoolers can recite this beloved prayer with tiny hands folded, heads bowed and hearts singing. But do we who are much older and wiser grown-ups believe that God is good? Do we thank Him with hearts of gratitude?
In our struggle over loss and death, we wrestle with our thoughts. Sometimes, like David who penned Psalm 13, we do have doubts of God’s goodness when we look around at our circumstances. We do wonder when our heartache will end and how long we have to continue suffering. We may feel like Job where nothing is going right and there is heartache at every turn. We miss our loved one and nothing can bring them back to the land of the living.
God is with us in the middle of this horrible, gut-wrenching situation we call grief. He does not leave us alone. He desires a relationship with us most of all. Sometimes He carries us when we’re too weak to walk. He never gives up on us. Why? Because He is good. Goodness is part of His character. Just as parents want to give good gifts to their children, so God wants to give us good gifts. In the midst of our suffering, He gives us the gift of His presence. He pours out on us His gifts of mercy, grace, and peace.
While we don’t feel grateful for our circumstances, we can begin to feel grateful in the midst of them. Not thankful for our loss but thankful for God’s care and comfort during our difficult circumstances. When we focus our eyes on the Lord, lifting them way above our situation, then we can see God and His goodness and begin to feel a sense of gratitude.
Can we receive those gifts of mercy, grace, and peace in the midst of our grieving? Can we claim those gifts for our own? Perhaps we don’t have the capacity to receive God’s gifts right now. Maybe our emotions and grief get in the way. Our lack of capacity to receive God’s help during our time of sorrow is like a drowning man who is so busy flailing his arms and legs in the water that he cannot grasp the life-preserver thrown to him. Make room for God’s help. Ask and His gifts will be given to you. Seek and you will find Him. Knock and the door will be opened to you. He is waiting for you. He is good.
May we, like David as he recalled God’s goodness to him, sing God’s praises even as we cry out in our sorrow, “How long, O Lord?” Let us turn our wrestling thoughts to the goodness of God, to His great love for us. May His presence and peace fill our minds as His mercy and grace surround our hearts. Let us receive His gifts to us with gratitude in our hearts for He is good.
Dear God, I thank You that You are good. Even in the midst of my sorrow, I remember Your goodness and kindness to me. I thank You for Your gifts to me - Your very presence, Your mercy, grace, and peace. May I give up my wrestling thoughts to You as I receive Your good gifts to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
“O, the Lord’s been good to me, and so I thank the Lord…” is a well-known song and prayer for children. Even preschoolers can recite this beloved prayer with tiny hands folded, heads bowed and hearts singing. But do we who are much older and wiser grown-ups believe that God is good? Do we thank Him with hearts of gratitude?
In our struggle over loss and death, we wrestle with our thoughts. Sometimes, like David who penned Psalm 13, we do have doubts of God’s goodness when we look around at our circumstances. We do wonder when our heartache will end and how long we have to continue suffering. We may feel like Job where nothing is going right and there is heartache at every turn. We miss our loved one and nothing can bring them back to the land of the living.
God is with us in the middle of this horrible, gut-wrenching situation we call grief. He does not leave us alone. He desires a relationship with us most of all. Sometimes He carries us when we’re too weak to walk. He never gives up on us. Why? Because He is good. Goodness is part of His character. Just as parents want to give good gifts to their children, so God wants to give us good gifts. In the midst of our suffering, He gives us the gift of His presence. He pours out on us His gifts of mercy, grace, and peace.
While we don’t feel grateful for our circumstances, we can begin to feel grateful in the midst of them. Not thankful for our loss but thankful for God’s care and comfort during our difficult circumstances. When we focus our eyes on the Lord, lifting them way above our situation, then we can see God and His goodness and begin to feel a sense of gratitude.
Can we receive those gifts of mercy, grace, and peace in the midst of our grieving? Can we claim those gifts for our own? Perhaps we don’t have the capacity to receive God’s gifts right now. Maybe our emotions and grief get in the way. Our lack of capacity to receive God’s help during our time of sorrow is like a drowning man who is so busy flailing his arms and legs in the water that he cannot grasp the life-preserver thrown to him. Make room for God’s help. Ask and His gifts will be given to you. Seek and you will find Him. Knock and the door will be opened to you. He is waiting for you. He is good.
May we, like David as he recalled God’s goodness to him, sing God’s praises even as we cry out in our sorrow, “How long, O Lord?” Let us turn our wrestling thoughts to the goodness of God, to His great love for us. May His presence and peace fill our minds as His mercy and grace surround our hearts. Let us receive His gifts to us with gratitude in our hearts for He is good.
Dear God, I thank You that You are good. Even in the midst of my sorrow, I remember Your goodness and kindness to me. I thank You for Your gifts to me - Your very presence, Your mercy, grace, and peace. May I give up my wrestling thoughts to You as I receive Your good gifts to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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