God is good.

But loss is a reality.

Pain is real.

Hurt is real.

Wounds are real.

While God does cause “all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28), He does not call everything good.

Death is not good.

Sin is not good.

Self-rule is not good.

He created us for life, not death.

He created us to walk with Him unhindered, not to stumble in darkness.

He created us to love Him and righteousness, not to be self-serving and love our sin.

But, while death and sin are a part of our lives, God Himself redeems even through tears.

God carries us.

God provides for us.

God holds us when the tears won’t come or when they won’t stop.

And, in time, God heals us though memories be bittersweet, and scars be reminders of the pain but also His restoration.

He calls us to joy; not a fake smile and a self-determined choice to appear “happy.”

He calls us to joy that rests in Him, even when we don’t “feel” it.

He calls us to come to Him, cry out to Him, and settle in Him because of who He is.

He calls us to “give thanks” not because a circumstance is good but because He is.

In the pain, in the numbness of reality, He is there.

In the “one step in front of the other,“ He is carrying.

In the deep shadows of night, He hears our weeping and holds us.

In it all, God is good!

In it all, He is our Living Hope.

He is our Living Hope in the darkness of death.

He is our Living Hope in the midst of the unknown.

He is our Living Hope in the betrayal of friends.

He is our Living Hope in the aching of a daily experience that cuts deep.

“Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)

We may not want that reality.

We may not understand it; I know that many times I don’t.

We may ask why.

Then we choose to praise Him, to give Him thanks even as we are honest about every single one of those statements, those emotions, those even sometimes guttural cries.

We choose to give thanks even while telling the Lord we don’t feel thankful in the moment, but we want to trust Him.

We choose to give thanks for who He is, not necessarily for the place we find ourselves.

He created us to love deeply and, with that, there can be great pain this side of heaven.

He created us with emotions that can be exhilarating and exhausting.

He created us for Himself and draws us near when we feel so far away and alone, so unable to take the next step without trembling.

We seek to reset our gaze moment by moment not because we find our place comfortable or desirable but because He is worthy and it is only in His presence that His children find true rest.

I pray, even as I write, that those who read this, whether in the midst of a deep valley or at the peak of emotional happiness, will run to the One who created you and loves you deeply, who is not afraid of your tears or your honest questions, but who is worthy of our worship and praise in the midst of the lives He has given us and will lead as we ask him to even if not where we desire to go.

He will comfort in ways we cannot fathom.

He sent His Son, Jesus, to give us life, not death.

He sent His Son to forgive and redeem us from our sin, from our self-rule and fears that threaten to undo us.

He sent His Son that He might transform our hearts, giving us a firm foundation on which to stand, a gentle heart in which to rest, and a deeper view of the One who created us and called His children by name.

He sent His Son that we might live in praise of Him and give thanks to Him in the greatest joys and the deepest sorrows!

Recently, I heard a new song from Perimeter Worship for the first time at the memorial for a dear family member, and it is on replay in my head and heart. May it encourage you, even through tears, to know and take shelter in the God who is good even when circumstances aren’t.

“I will rejoice when the night is long.

I will rejoice when the morning dawns.

In every change, my hope remains the same,

The Lord is my strength and my song!”…

From the mountains sing, ‘Alleluia!’”

From the valley sing, “It is well!”

For our God is King and His reign goes on

The Lord is my strength and my song!

It is well! It is well with my soul!”

“The Lord is My Strength and My Song” written by Laura Story, Matthew Papa, Jonathan Wisdom

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5