Let’s Shift the Grief
Our plans will fail. That’s a fact of life, and a painful one. The shift to understanding why plans failed, and then accepting those changes, finally happened for me when I realized it wasn’t about my plans at all. Life isn’t about how well I plan, but about God’s plan, which reveals his purpose, presence, and promises. My plans will always be shifting and changing, but God’s plans are not written in pencil. Psalm 119:89 says, “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” God’s words are true and they can never be erased. His plans are fixed in heaven.
God is Our Dwelling Place
Can this be comforting? Moses certainly thought so.
In Exodus 33:9 says Moses would go to a tent outside the camp of Israel and “speak” with God. Exodus 33:11 goes on to say, “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Moses was very intimately aware of God’s Word. And at the end of his life Moses prayed a final prayer to God, in which he said something all of our hearts need when life feels like it has all shifted out of place: “Lord, you are our dwelling place in all generations” (Psalm 90:1).
If your plans seem broken, or mixed up, you are in the right place. Moses proclaimed that God was our dwelling place, our home. Right now home might feel uncertain. In the midst of a rearranged life, is God present? As we journey through this book, we are going to walk through the story of Moses, and I hope that you’ll come to see that true safety and the place we belong is always found in God – the everlasting God. It is hard to imagine that God could use these rearranged pieces for His glory, but Moses shows us how.
Trusting God’s Goodness
When Moses met God on Mount Sinai, the Lord passed in front of His servant. As God passed over and spoke to Moses, He said, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)
Do you want to believe that God is good to you? Trusting that He is good, merciful and fair takes time. This is where God’s goodness becomes more than a big idea or a nice sentiment. As we’ll see over the course of this book, maintaining the goodness of God through deep sorrow can become a practical truth to light our way. God is not only good, but He is sovereign. Everything in our lives might feel disorienting, but let’s learn to refocus our eyes on the truth Moses can teach us.
Our lives might be filled with plot twists and unexpected heartache, but believing in God’s sovereign goodness can give us peace right now. God wasn’t just good in the past, nor is His goodness reserved for the future. Good things are not just around the corner, as most Christian cliches would like you to believe. God is already good, right now. Today.
Tweet ThisIn God’s goodness we can see His sovereignty over our life, even the unforeseen (by us) circumstances. Our lives are ordained by a good God; not a revengeful, merciless, or absent God. This goodness is found because our God is one who provides a purpose for the grief; His comforting presence and rock-solid promises hold tight in the dark nights of heartache. Moving forward, we don’t have to fear the future or live in the past. We start today.
