Call it good?

I have trusted in Your mercy. — Psalm 13:5

Can we really know whether to label life’s circumstances as good or bad?

For instance, your car breaks down right before you are to take a family road trip. But when you take the car to the shop, the mechanic says, “Good thing you didn’t take this out on the road. It could have caught fire.” Is that bad because of the inconvenience, or good because of God’s protection?

Or perhaps your child decides to pursue interests that aren’t all that interesting to you. You wanted her to play basketball and run track in high school. But she wanted to sing and play the oboe. You feel frustrated, but she excels and ends up with a music scholarship. Is that bad because your dreams weren’t fulfilled, or good because God directed her in ways you could not have predicted?

Sometimes it’s hard to see how God is working. His mysteries don’t always reveal their secrets to us, and our journey is often redirected by uncontrollable detours. Perhaps God is showing us a better route.

To make sure we benefit from what might seem bad, we must recognize and trust God’s “unfailing love” (Ps. 13:5 NIV). In the end, we’ll be able to say, “I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me” (v.6 NIV).

 — Dave Branon

The circumstances in our lives

Seem random and unplanned;

But someday we will surely see

The order of God’s hand. — Sper

READ: Psalm 13

We may not be able to control events, but we can control our attitude toward them. T

he Bible in one year:

• Genesis 33-35;

   Matthew 10:1-20