Call it good?

My devotion hit me so hard this morning, I just had to share it with you.

Psalm 13:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord

for he has been good to me.

Can we really know whether to label life's circumstances as good or bad?

For instance, your car breaks down right before you are to take a family road trip. But when you take the car to the shop, the mechanic says, "Good thing you didn't take this out on the road. It could have caught fire." Is that bad because of the inconvenience, or good because of God's protection?

Or perhaps your child decides to pursue interests that aren't all that interesting to you. You wanted her to play basketball and run track in high school. But she wanted to sing and play the oboe. You feel frustrated, but she excels and ends up with a music scholarship. Is that bad because your dreams weren't fulfilled, or good because God directed her in ways you could not have predicted?

Sometimes it's hard to see how God is working. His mysteries don't always reveal their secrets to us, and our journey is often redirected by uncontrollable detours. Perhaps God is showing us a better route.

To make sure we benefit from what might seem bad, we must recognize and trust God's "unfailing love" (Ps. 13:5.) In the end, we'll be able to say, "I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me" (Ps. 13:6.)

-Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread

As you know, I've been struggling with my health lately. Most of the time, I choose to trust, but to be honest, I've questioned God. Why do I have to experience this.... Haven't I been through more than my share in my life? Talk about self-pitying and self-absorbed behavior!

I had an appointment with my doctor on Wednesday. I've been struggling with a racing heart and I thought he should know, just in case it changed what he thought might be wrong with me. My heart rate ranges from 90 beats per minute while I'm relaxed and not experiencing the racing sensation, to 160 bpm at rest. When my doctor took my pulse in the office it was 90 bpm and he said that's too high. When I told him how high my pulse goes, he was definitely concerned. He's scheduled me to wear a Holter Monitor (a portable EKG) for 48 hours. The sooner they catch the tachycardia (fast heart) on a strip, the sooner they can treat me for it. Dr. S told me that many of the symptoms that they've associated with MS could be explained by Supraventricular Tachycardia.

A few months ago, I would have labeled heart trouble as a bad situation. I mean, I'm 30! I'm not supposed to think about heart health for years yet! Now I look at SVT as a blessing. Odd, isn't it? I struggled to trust God when I was told that I might have MS. I didn't understand and I DEFINITELY labeled that situation as negative, but God knows exactly what He's up to. He's got my back. He's going to work all things for my good because I love Him (Romans 8:28)

Look at my husband Trevor's past year. He was seriously injured at work in November of 2009. His neck was permanently damaged and I'm pretty sure most people would label that as bad. But look at him now.... He's being put through school by WCB, being trained for a job that will be much easier on his body and will allow him a lot of room to advance. He'll be better equipped to provide for his family and we'll most likely have more financial security than we ever thought we'd have. God is using Trevor's injury for his good because Trevor loves God....

So I want to challenge you. When you're experiencing something that you might naturally label as bad, stop and ask yourself... Is God allowing me to experience this because He's directing me or protecting me? Or is God simply allowing me to live through this agony because He doesn't care? God makes a lot of promises in His Word. He won't give us more than we can handle. He'll use all things for the good of those who love Him. He's promised us salvation through His Son, Jesus. He's promised that Jesus will return and that when He does, we'll have no weeping, no sorrow, no pain, no illness. He's promised us compassion and answered prayers. And above all, He's promised us unconditional, unending love.

Amen!