Thankful for His Goodness | Even When I Can’t See It
Thursday Thankful Moments
Devotional #5
I took a few weeks off from posting devotionals to spend time with my family and to finish up some things on my to do list.
But here’s what’s been on my mind the past week:
God’s goodness.
That might seem simple to you and I suppose it is. But eight days ago I woke up to this text from my deployed husband:
Need to pray. Flights are cancelled. I’m sorry you’re waking up to this.
In terms of deployments, 3 ish months isn’t long, right? But my kids were so done. I was too, but I’m an adult. Telling a 5 and 7 year old that their Daddy’s flight was cancelled for the next day, the one they’d been waiting eagerly for, was unfathomable.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NET
I was angry. So angry.
But I was a backup vocal at church that morning, and I had to get ready. I had to somehow stuff my emotions down and think of how I would tell the kids.
The worship leader that Sunday morning had the song King of My Heart on the set list. I’ll share a Bethel version of it at the bottom of this post for today’s Moment of Worship.
As we practiced singing the lyrics, hope began to stir in my heart.
You are good good ohhh
You are good good ohhh
And then the bridge . . .
You’re never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
I started to give it to God. I prayed that this flight thing would get so fixed that our boys wouldn’t even know about the little speed bump. I was praying for a miracle. Because right then the flight was rescheduled for a week later. And even that wasn’t solid. Hubby and I really didn’t know how long he’d be stuck.
I got a couple of people praying. And five minutes before the service started, I glanced at my phone and saw this message from my husband:
Miracle happened. We have tickets to leave tomorrow.
Tears came fast and I had to somehow compose myself to sing—it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. Especially when it came time to sing King of My Heart.
God answered my prayer. The kids didn’t even know Daddy’s flight had been cancelled and another flight found, and even having a similar itinerary. I hadn’t planned to tell them until the afternoon once we were home again.
But hubby and I did stay a little nervous until he was safely back in the country.
I know, prayers aren’t always answered so swiftly. Sometimes the answer is no and sometimes wait. But I will forever boast about the goodness of my God, no matter what He answers when I pray. That’s easy to say now, right? When things are going good?
I hear you. But that morning when I was singing about His goodness—even as my hope was deferred —somehow, I felt the Lord say He was going to turn it around for our boys’ sake.
I’m so, so thankful.
This deployment was especially hard on my seven-year-old. Maybe it’s because we are in a pandemic and things are already weird. Maybe it’s because I had some health issues (temporary and not COVID) and didn’t have a lot of energy.
Or maybe he’s just seven and really just needed his Daddy. For whatever reason, it was extra hard this time. Military life is hard on kids.
For all those reading this who have a family member deployed, I see you. It’s hard. I pray that God’s grace will strengthen you.
For all the single moms out there managing on your own the majority of the time. May God’s grace hold you up and sustain you as well, and give you everything you need and in every season.
If you’re reading this then you probably have things on your heart. I encourage you to declare God’s goodness. Because He is good. In the good times and the bad. In the storm and when life is going great. He is always good.
I’ve been telling my kids to pray as though what they’re praying for is already here. When they’re struggling with fear, or if they’re struggling with something at school.
For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 NET
Even when it doesn’t feel like God’s working . . . He is. Even when we can’t see it . . . He is. That Sunday, when I woke up to that text from my husband, I really didn’t know what would happen. It looked bleak, but God was working.
And the kids don’t even know. It has me thinking . . . how much does God do that we don’t even know He’s fixed?
A Moment of Worship
Further Reading
Romans 8:26-30, Mark 11:20-26, Proverbs 3:1-8
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