Pathways Press.com

MEDITATION:

Written by Faith Sommers, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Prayers for a Simpler Life.”

How glad I am that God is good. A few years ago, I was convicted at how easily I said “God is good” when something went well. When I nearly had an accident, when my son’s wrist wasn’t broken in a fall, when my father’s heart surgery was successful, my first thought was, “God is good.”  Isn’t God good when things go wrong? Last spring, I didn’t see a red light and hit a car; another son’s wrist was broken in a freak collision at school; my uncle passed away at a young age from a lung disease. Could I still say, genuinely, that God is good?  A friend has come through severe emotional distress. She was adopted and often felt unloved and unaccepted. When she was a young girl her family was robbed, and the resulting fear dogged her life. Eventually, she because physically ill to the point of death. Still, she longed after God. In his mercy, he led her to a doctor and to a program of restoration. While she wishes healing were instant, she recognizes even in the daily struggle to trust him that God is good. She has been given tools to work through the hurts of the past. She knows God loves her personally, and she joyfully shares a testimony of his grace. Her face shines with his goodness. Life isn’t always easy. This is a fallen world, where pain and death are a part of life. I have only to glance at the headlines in the daily paper to be reminded how much I need God’s abiding presence…There are many verses that speak of the goodness of God. When I struggle to understand, if I seek his face, by prayer and reading his Word, he brings peace and courage that I desperately need. That is because they are the words of life, words of truth, words of promise from a God who is good.

PRAYER:

Written by Megan Bailey, a contemporary author and content producer.

Heavenly Father, I pray that as each of us comes to a point in our lives where we dare to ask You to reveal Your will for us, You would put us in a place of acceptance of what You reveal to us. It may not be what we want, but it will surely be what we need in order to live a life fully invested in You. Help us to realize that anything You bring into our lives and anything You reveal to us is for our good. Give us a spirit of acceptance and a heart open to Your movement in our lives. Allow us to let Your love surround us and cast out any fear or doubts. Help us to live in love with You, accept Your will for our lives, and give us the proper response to Your revelation. May we trust in the way You push us to go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.