The Good Father

Just because we don't get what we want doesn't mean God is a mean God. It doesn't mean he doesn't care. If we understand that he's good well trust that when he says no, he is being a good father. What parent gives their child everything they want?  We are children. We don't know what's good for us, this is why we have a father. We're free to trust him, he will never harm us and if he takes something from us or doesn't give us what we want he will give us something far greater than he took and more desirable than we thought. He will give us a deeper closeness with himself and a strange disenchantment with this world. We will start to see things as they really are: fleeting pleasures and will truly long for our home. 

He loves us too much to give us what we want because often what we want will not satisfy,  often it is not him. Our earthly dads have said no to us because they've lived longer and experienced more, they have some wisdom. Our great. Father says no because he is the story writer, he is wisdom by definition, he knows what hes doing, he knows the way the story ends. Not only that, but he promises us that for those who believe the story always ends for our good, always.

Comfort for Failures

I'm finding the very thing I want victory from is the very thing God uses to show me his deep, unchanging love. Every time I try so hard and fall again, I find him there, helping me up- rescuing me. It's here that I get to experience the patience and compassion of the father. It's here that I truly see nothing can separate me from his love. 

My problem is I don't want to be rescued, I want to get it right. I want to give him a nice clean slate to get his glory from, forgetting he works in the mess and is most glorified in it. The gospel confounds me. 

The comfort I've found is that on my absolute worst day, God is at work and on my best he's at work. His dedication to me isn't greater on my good days and he doesn't get frustrated with me on my bad days. He is constantly at work on all of my days. Chipping away at the nonsense in my life. Neither day is of any consequence in his eyes, because his purpose in all my days is to make me more like him and to show me more of himself. So every day is a 'good' day that the Lord has made, I can rejoice and be glad even in my failures. 

The steadfast love of the lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:22-23