“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6
I’ve learned grief has many different faces. Among them are sorrow, misery, anguish, pain, distress, heartache, agony, torment, affliction, suffering, woe, dejection, and despair ? just to name a few. During the years of caring for my Mom before she died, I experienced most of these, and some of them simultaneously as her health worsened. I recall a specific grievous and prolonged time span in which I earnestly prayed, fasted, and begged for God to change our circumstances. I couldn’t see His goodness in our situation.
Then one day at the end of a lengthy fast, God spoke to my heart as I read Jeremiah 10:19, “This is a grief and you must bear it (KJV).” I knew from that point on, regardless of how fervently I prayed, how long I fasted, or how earnestly I begged, that God didn’t intend to restore Mom to health. Consequently, I asked Him to “teach” me to trust in His goodness even when nothing appeared to be good.
A major source of encouragement to me during this process was a quote by Charles Spurgeon: “Remember this, had any other condition been better (good) for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.” I copied the quote in my Bible. I referred to it often as I resolved to trust in God’s goodness. Now, as I reflect back, I’m thankful that God, in His goodness, allowed me the opportunity to care for Mom as I did.
By Veda Lucas
Used by Permission
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Further Reading
• The Unchanging Lord – by Charles Spurgeon
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