“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.”

—Psalms 145:17

The tumor is still there.
Your family is still in crisis.
The church is still without a pastor.
Your son or daughter still can’t find work.

It’s one thing to believe that God is able to do anything He wants. He is God. You know that. But it is quite another thing to believe that He is willing and able to do it for you. No matter what we want our relationship with God and His actions toward us to be, it will always come down to a matter of trust—trusting that He is able, and trusting that His kindness toward us makes Him willing in His infinite wisdom to do what is best for us. He can see beyond what we can see, and He can love us without explaining why His love needs to look like this at the moment.

Please hear this following statement with the gentleness I intend: Whether or not God chooses to do something is a question of His sovereignty, not His ability. Whether or not He will do it is His business. But believing that He can—that’s our business.

You and I—so often walking around with a focus on the severity and heaviness of our problems—have no idea the activity that God is currently orchestrating in our lives, not to mention the protective rescues He has already accomplished. He may have healed you of sicknesses you didn’t even know you were carrying. He may have rectified circumstances on your behalf before you were even aware you had a problem. Wonder what God has already done for you today without even telling you?

Just because He loves you?

According to Scripture, this one who is “righteous in all His ways” is also “kind in all His deeds.” And while He may allow things into your life that are decidedly not good on the surface, His Word promises He is working all things together for your good in Christ (Rom 8:28). His heart is brimming over with compassion and affection for you. He calls you the “apple” of His eye (Ps 17:8), and is so endeared to you that He lifts His voice to sing songs over you (Zeph 3:17). You are His “beloved” (Rom 9:25), and His “banner” over you is “love” (Song 2:4). He is constantly bringing about the finest results in your circumstances, even though His methods may defy human understanding.

Just because you can’t see it or feel it or explain how this latest development is a sure sign of His kindness toward you means only one thing: not that He is unable, but that His sovereign love is at work right now in some other way. And as you become willing to trust this truth, it will put you in the most receptive position of all for watching Him work. . .for seeing everything He is capable of.

“The sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.”
—Hosea 3:5