The Lord's Goodness

I truly believe I will live to see the Lord's goodness. Wait for the Lord's help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord's help. – Psalm 27:13-14 (NCV)

Do you believe you will see the Lord’s goodness? What is God’s goodness like? How does one live who waits for the Lord’s help? How can we act strong and brave in the midst of all of life’s trials and tribulations?

We live in interesting times. Many believe that things are getting worse all of the time. It is easy to believe this when we see our savings dwindle, our friends, our family, and sometimes ourselves unemployed. The media addresses our fears by showing us that our fears are well founded. We live afraid.
Fear does an interesting thing to us, it causes us to live lives where we are on constant vigil to see how much worse it is going to get. We become pessimistic and use it as a coping mechanism. When things get worse we feel justified in our pessimism, saying to others, and ourselves “Look I was right, things are awful.”
It is no wonder that recent studies have declared less people are attending church now. The one place God has called to a beacon of hope in a world of distress has allowed itself to become boggled down with despair. Often churches contain members and ministers who act just as pessimistic as the rest of society.
Sermons become soliloquies of depression, members bemoan a loss of Christian values, and all the while we never realize that our actions demonstrate a lack of faith in a great God!
Where is the hope unless it abides in us? Where is the joy unless we live into the joy of the Psalmist who proclaimed during a stressful time, “I truly believe I will live to see the Lord’s goodness.” Things may be bad, but we have a faithful God whose help is on the way. We help others by being strong and brave in the midst of the storm believing in the promises of God.

Jesus said, “I have appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” Our fruit will last when we abide in the love of Christ, and stand strong in the midst of life’s storms. When we, with faith, wait for the Lord’s help, we become a beacon and hope and joy in world that needs hope and joy! Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help!

With hope and joy,
Garrett