I Will See the Goodness of the Lord

I’m here again with my deck of verses, ever growing and encouraging. Here is one of my favorites. I pull this one out when I feel discouraged or let down by myself, the people around me, or even the world. 
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Psalm 27:13-14
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Naomi White

I love the entire psalm, where David bounces between confidence that the Lord will give him victory and shelter in the near future and fearful pleading that the Lord would actually keep him safe in the present moment. I relate to that bouncing back and forth between confidence and fear. But the conclusion seems to find a solid place to stand. Courage and trust, not in one specific victory, but in the God who brings the victory.

“I remain confident of this:”
 At the end of my swirl of thoughts and desires and fears, this is the anchor I can hold onto.

“I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
Notice how David does not end with, “And my enemies will fall before me and I will have victory over them.” He started there, but he concludes with, “My God is good and He is faithful”. Not in an abstract way, not in a distant ‘heavenly promise’ way. He is good here and now. He is faithful in this current life. Even if the future is uncertain, even if the present is discouraging, God’s good hand will be on my current, real, right now life.

“Wait for the Lord”
When I am waiting for something (for example, my dinner in the oven, my Amazon package, or my mom’s return call), I am not striving or rushing, but going about my business, simply keeping watch expectantly. I can’t make any miraculous changes in my circumstances. But I can expect that the Lord is already moving. I can watch for His goodness.

“Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
You know that when the Bible says something twice, it’s important. This time, David drew it out with more description, which feels like he’s taken my hand and said, “Look at my eyes, did you hear what I just said?” 
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“Be strong and take heart” 
Have courage and persevere. Hold on, hang in there, help is coming, don’t give up.
“And wait for the Lord.” 
Watch for His goodness because the Lord is already moving and working. You won’t only see His goodness in heaven or in memories. You will see God’s goodness in the days to come.

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (I’ve repeated it three times, so you know I think it’s important!)

In His Name,
Naomi:)