How do you feel when you hear those words? Maybe that’s exactly what the surgeon said before your major surgery, or what your maid of honor said on your wedding day, or what your financial consultant said about getting out of debt.
And now, things haven’t gone so well. It’s not “fine.” You thought that trusting in God would make everything okay, but …
What about your grown child straying from your family values? Or your toddler on the autism spectrum?
What about trying to pay the mortgage AND the higher taxes? Or the hit your investments took?
What about not being able to get pregnant? Or the overbearing in-laws?
Let me ask, are any of those overwhelming for Jesus? Does Jesus see any of those problems and say, “OMG, I can’t handle this!” Of course not. Say these words of Psalm 23, then, as saying them to Jesus himself: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5,6).
Do you see that? The “goodness and love” of Jesus follow you. All. The. Time.
That changes things. Because you’re not always the best follower, you’re not always faithful and feeling filled with “goodness and love.”
In those moments, the “goodness and love” of Jesus doesn’t just fill you, but overflows through you so that you have enough “goodness and love” to pour out to others. Love is the gift first received that can then give lots of love to others.
Does your financial consultant truly mean everything will be fine? If they’re legit, then absolutely. Except for this: they don’t have supreme power to control interest rates and force creditors to cut you some slack. They don’t have the austerity to forgive your debt.
But God does. And forgiving is his business. He may not erase the Capital One invoice but he does something much better. He pays your debt of sin, of shame, of bad decisions. Then he replaces that on your account with his “goodness and love.”
So the next time you worry and ask “What about … my mom’s dementia … the war in Ukraine … my career direction … violence … politics … high cholesterol … marriage problems?” … follow it up with an even more impactful question.
“What about God?”
What can he do? What does he promise? How can he help?
PRAYER: Dear God, I wonder “what about” so many things, and often the answers frustrate, confuse or shame me. I want to wonder “what about” you more often. Your character. Your promises. Your love. Amen.
MEDITATION: Pause for just 4 minutes like this: (1 minute) Look up Psalm 23:5,6 in your Bible. (2 minutes) Read the verses and notice the “you” as compared to “I” in these words of truth. (1 minute) Say a prayer to God that has more “you” than “I.”