|
THE GOODNESS OF GOD
Summer is coming! Waking to the sounds of birds singing, watching flowers and trees bloom, and remembering the warmth of the sun after a cold winter. These are great reminders to me of the goodness of God. Even when everything changes, He is good. Surrounded by tangible evidence of God’s goodness in my daily life, it is hard to believe that I still find myself overlooking it in my pursuit of the next thing. I get caught up in my list of things to do. My schedule, my job, and my responsibilities all vie for my time and attention. I am so focused on accomplishing the goals I have set or the dreams I want to make a reality for the future, I often miss the goodness of God in the present and give in to the urgency of the future.
I can think of a time when my son asked me to come and play baseball with him after I had come home from work. I love baseball. I love my son. At the time, however, I was in the middle of writing for an event a few weeks away and chose to finish that project instead of enjoying time with my son. While this example leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it highlights something I think we all struggle with. We are all captivated by the future. It is mysterious. We see the future as a destination we can reach. A place that will resolve the issues or problems we face now. There will be answers to our doubts and questions when we get there.
We are enthralled with finding out “what’s next?”. We are conditioned to ask this question, aren’t we? In simple ways, like asking what’s for dinner, at breakfast like my kids do. Or for more complex issues, like what I should do with my life? Or am I doing the right thing? The trap of a focus on the future is that nothing about the future is known, and nothing is promised. It is a place we can never truly reach. Our feelings of hope melt away to doubt, fear, and worry over the “what ifs”. We feel more often a loss of control when our plans are derailed by unplanned events, rather than excitement when we reach our goals. We hope that there are answers to our doubts and questions, but by constantly wondering what is next, we fail to see the goodness of God all around us right here in the present.
As I walked away from my missed opportunity with my son, frustrated with myself and disappointed that I had chosen other things over time with him, God called to mind two verses.
From Proverbs 19:21, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail." Which is a harrowing reminder that I am not actually in charge of my future. All of my plans are well and good, but God ultimately is the only one who knows the plans He has for me.
The other passage is from Lamentation 3:21-23, where the author directs the attention not to the suffering of life but rather to the faithfulness and goodness of God all around us. Even in our fear, doubt, and anxious worry about the future.
“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Both of these verses paint the same picture. God is faithful, and He will take care of the future. Does this mean that we should never think ahead? Have goals or make plans? I don’t think so. Instead, by trusting that God is in control of the future just like He controls the seasons, it sets us free from the paralyzing pursuit of an unknowable future. It refocuses our perspective to the goodness of God here in the present. When the unexpected happens, we know who is still in control. It reminds us to smell the flowers, enjoy the sunshine, and take time to play a little baseball.
| 
