Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 27:13

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Hope Discovery of the Day:

His goodness is our hope.

Psalm 27:13 sustained me during a season of my life when it felt like life held no more hope for me. Funny thing is, at that time I thought it meant my troubles would be over. And soon. But the promise within this Scripture is even greater than that. We will see God’s goodness through it all. Right now. While we are alive. In the middle of whatever we are going through. We can rise above our circumstances and see God’s goodness throughout. How? His incredible grace and truth reveal what our hearts need while we are waiting for God’s deliverance. And what is this goodness?

His goodness is our hope.

God’s character is not maligned when we suffer in a fallen world. It is in looking to One greater that we have hope. Seeing God’s goodness enables us to trust Him with whatever life sends our way.

His goodness is our strength.

When we trust that God is good, we are strengthened in our trials because God will miraculously use it all for our good and His glory. He is enough. He is our strength.

His goodness is our security.

We were never meant to have our security in this world. Knowing our God is good gives us eternal security, well beyond what seems bad in this life.

Does God’s goodness mean I can avoid suffering? Not so much. Different translations of Psalm 27:13 indicate seeing God’s favor once again while we are alive. What is this favor? We want to believe it means that everything will eventually go our way. But what about when it doesn’t? Does having hope require that our troubles disappear? Or is it the mystery that God enables us in times of trouble?

Our God who fed Elijah when he fled persecution, Who split the Red Sea so His people could be saved, Who bore all of our sins so we could be saved, Who sees and knows all and who cares for even a small sparrow is good. So good. He is aware of all our troubles and able to help us thrive in the midst as we look to Him.

Our hope is not just beyond the grave – it is for the here and now. This hope does not mean everything will be perfect. But those of us who are in Christ will be able to see beyond the here and now and have a hope that never fails . . . even in times of trouble.