So, I’m reading a book called “The Good and Beautiful God” by James Bryan Smith, for a study that Joel and I are participating in at our church. The book’s aim is to break down the incorrect narratives or understandings that we may have about God, and replace them with a correct understanding of God…the God that Jesus revealed in The Bible. He is good and beautiful. I have only read four chapters so far, and this book has impacted me greatly. So I had to share what’s on my heart…
The last chapter was entitled God is Trustworthy. I realized that I often struggle with truly trusting God. As a Christian, I always say that I trust God, but when life gets rough and bad things happen that don’t make sense, I often question God. My actions and decisions in life have not always reflected true trust in God. But the desire of my heart is to know God more, to know Him rightly, and to fall in love with Him more. I desire to be more like His son, Jesus. And He is always gently working in my heart and in my life, by His unconditional and nonjudgmental love, and is drawing me to Him. His goodness is sinking in. It is overwhelming, and I am brought to tears often when my eyes are opened to how loving and beautiful God is.
I am learning that even when life is hard, and filled with challenges, and doesn’t make sense, I can trust God. He is always only good. When life is going great, He is trustworthy.
An exercise the author recommended was to think about the blessings that God has given in your life. To think about the many, many blessings He gives every single day. To do this even when you are having a hard time, or dealing with a challenge in life. To remember the many blessings God gives even when the going gets rough. And to remember to thank God for His many blessings when things are going well. There is never a single moment in my life when I don’t having something to be thankful for. I want to make a habit of this, so I started a list of the blessings I could think of in my life. I started writing them down in a notebook. By the time I began to drop off to sleep last night, I had already written down 85 blessings that God has given. Blessings that in His love He has given to me that show His grace, and make my life beautiful. I am blessed beyond words. God is so good. And I mean that.