God is good
It is sweet how the Lord prepares your heart for the things ahead. Subtly. Softly. Consistently — if you let Him.
This semester has been filled with anxiety about the things ahead ... jobs, apartments, moving, post graduation life. I have been wrestling with my pride and fear of the unknown. I questioned if God could be good even if I ended up not having the things I think I need or the life I thought I’d have. Deep down I was trying to understand if He could be enough for me ... truly enough ... Jesus plus nothing.
I was reading my bible one morning and turned to Job. I read about how God allowed all of these amazing things to be stripped from him. Job lost his wealth, his livestock, his family, and his HEALTH. And Job’s response was “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
I sat there pondering his response and in my heart wondered if I would be able to say the same if presented with those circumstances. I figured probably not given my doubt of His goodness and asked the Lord to change my heart to be rid of dependency on anything but Him. I even texted my bible study group saying that Job’s response (Job 1:21) would be my anthem for the next season. A purposeful choice to believe God is good even if life is saturated in uncertainty. Little did I know a few days later I would be diagnosed with cancer. I’m a healthy 22 year old girl who is only a few short weeks away from graduating college.
Then cancer.
The big C word. It’s strange how one word can be uttered and everything seems to change in that very instant. Jobs seems less urgent. Roommates and apartments almost feel trivial. Future plans are a blur. Suddenly my main thought revolves around one thing. Living.
The odds of my treatment are good and ultimately I should be a normal human again down the road. But everything has changed for now. I will walk out of this a different person than who I was walking in. And that‘s ok. God graciously prepared my heart for this battle over the past few months and now I feel encouraged and ready to fight. To fight for my life. Fight for a better tomorrow. And fight for a world where more people know that Jesus is truly all you need. And God is good. No matter what.
So despite what uncertainty you face — and don’t minimize yours just because it isn’t cancer— I challenge you to start reading Job and to ponder Job 1:21. Join me in choosing Job’s response in whatever circumstance surrounds you. If you didn’t get that job. If that person you love is no longer there. If your life seems to be falling apart. If you feel lost or alone or as if you deserve more. Choose to say:
“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
It is amazing what happens when you say this while your heart is breaking over something awful. It feels unnatural. But it is proclaiming truth in the midst of that trial. It opens your eyes to see that the Lord is good and He is working things together for your good. It might not look like what you thought, but proclaiming his perfect goodness invites your heart to belief again. You will experience a peace that you are not alone. You will see that the one who holds your heart will perfectly provide for you.
Together let’s declare: God is good. No matter what.
