I recently read of a young person going through a health scare who responded with the statement, what have I ever done to deserve this? Unfortunately, health problems and family losses and job failures come whether we deserve them or not. Such is the way of a fallen world.

It’s easy for me to blame my frustrations on the Lord. Why doesn’t he do something? God feels absent in the midst of my suffering. But while God may be quiet, he is not absent. King David wrote of the Lord’s heart toward our world:

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

God’s compassion covers all—devout followers as well as hardened opponents. The earth and everything in it attracts the Lord’s favor and concern.

The good name of the Lord gets bandied about by those using it against one other. It’s tempting to claim a favored status with the Lord, believing he should bless me abundantly and withhold blessings from those who disagree with me.

But thankfully the Lord moves in ways higher and wiser than mine. In the meantime I enjoy his goodness, whether I deserve it or not.

Psalm 145 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Anne Nygård