Beauty Divine

On Tuesdays I'm usually involved in a women's bible study on the Attributes of God. This is usually where the older ones share their wisdom and I just sit there and wish I was as smart as them!

Today though, I chose to stay home because of one very sick doggy. I've been dogsitting this week for Molly and she is not doing so good. After a very traumatic experience at the vet yesterday and a surgery on her foot, Molly is now wearing one of those cones around her neck so she can't rip open her stitches. This leaves her constantly bumping into things and getting stuck because she is unable to see and hear all around her. This morning she was very depressed and defeated. So I opted to stay home with her and make sure she gets adjusted to the cone.

But as I've been sitting with Molly I started to see a few things clearly from my Bible Study. This week we are studying God's goodness. I was tempted to do the usual quick study: "God is good, okay I'm done!" But I knew that deep inside I question His goodness. There is so much hardship in this world that it's sometimes hard to accept that He is good even though he doesn't always intervene. As I was reading through it, I kept hearing poor Molly crash into things and thought "Life just isn't fair. Why does she have to go through this? Why do we have to go through tough times?"

I always have this nagging fear that God is waiting until everything is good in my life so He can take it all away and teach me something. Or it's hard for me to say, "You are all I need, Lord" because I'm scared He'll test me in it and take things away. I question God's goodness. Does He really have my best interests in mind?

But today in our study, I read Psalm 84:11: "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." I started to think about that verse and look at Molly's situation with a bigger perspective. The cone may make her miserable right now. It's uncomfortable and isolating. But it's for her good. She can't tear at her stitches. She won't get an infection. She will get to keep her foot if it stays clean. Right now there is no better way for Molly's wound to be kept safe.

It works the same way with us. God is good. We can know that He wants what is best for us because He didn't even hold back from giving us His most valuable gift: His Son. We may hurt and not understand why we have to go through things, but it is not because God wants to punish us or test how much we can take. He gives us grace when the hardship is a consequence from what we've done, and makes all things work for His glory. He is a sun - a resource, strength, power - and a protective shield around us. God is good.