September 12, 2019

Life seemed to be going along fine, and then, bam! I slipped and fell sideways on my foot and fractured it in two places. “What is going on, God?” I thought. I have so much to do. I can’t deal with a broken foot right now! Then I had some other medical issues with additional doctor appointments, x-rays, ultrasounds, and minor surgeries and so forth. I seem to be falling apart physically.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

I was trying to remember this verse. I started out thinking, “all things work together for good…” Then I looked it up. I was wrong. I’d missed the most important part. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good…” Yes, God is the important factor that I missed.

I knew that God hadn’t forgotten me. He had been with me every step (or hobble) of the way. I gained a new perspective as I pondered almost daily Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Yes. The Lord is my shepherd. I have the Great Physician/Shepherd guiding me through the rocky ground of my physical problems. I don’t need to be anxious because He will show me the way through. I don’t want for anything because He is my guide and provider. I can be confident that He will provide a way for me so that all my needs and wants are met in Him.

As I pondered all the wonderful phrases of this Psalm, the last phrase also stood out to me. “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life…” Goodness. Lovingkindness. They will follow me all the days of my life. There’s no question in the Psalm writer’s mind. “Surely”, he says. It’s not just hoping, but knowing that this is going to happen. Goodness and lovingkindness are qualities of God. They come from Him. He is the one who brings it about. “God causes…” God is the factor that brings about goodness and lovingkindness when things don’t seem to be working out. “God causes all things to work together for good.” There’s that word “good” again. But it’s not me working it out. It’s God.

The reason the psalmist could say “surely”. “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life” is because he understood that it was God that was going to bring it about.

After 3 long weeks, I graduated from the boot brace to an ankle brace that can be worn with my shoes. I’m beginning to understand that God will use this period of difficulty in my life to bring about more of His goodness in me and in my circumstances. I have another 5 months to go before my foot is entirely healed. In the meantime, I have 5 months to remember it is God who is the one who causes all things to work together for good. I have 5 months to ingrain that word “surely” into my mind so that I know with certainty that goodness and lovingkindness are going to follow me all the days of my life.  God is the factor that is the game changer from dwelling in self-pity and depression to living in hope and expectation of His goodness and His lovingkindness.

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