Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalms 23:6 NIV
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13 NIV
It’s very easy to say, “I give up”. We can give up on people, on life’s overwhelming circumstances, on our jobs, on our own health, on life itself…giving up is easy. It’s staying in the game that’s more difficult. Staying committed, staying dedicated, staying loyal, and…staying strong in faith.
When life doesn’t turn out exactly how you thought (which is nearly the case for every human being on the planet) we might lose faith that God is working. We might doubt His plan and purpose. We may doubt that God knows what He is doing. This is exactly when we need to not give up on God.
Recently, I’ve felt led to reread Psalm 23 and one thing that has struck me is that despite where I am or what I might be dealing with, God is always with me and it is HIS goodness and love that follows me throughout my days. God is goodness itself and why would I give up on what good things He is working on? As Paul shares in Philippians 2:12-13, we have to work out our salvation – and not give up – because God is working in us to fulfill his good purpose. There needs to be a reverence of almighty God and the mysterious way He works in our lives. And there needs to be an acknowledgement that we do have a good God who is working to carry out His good plan in our lives. A simple prayer that I have been praying lately is, “Good and gracious God, may you work within and through me even when I don’t understand my circumstances”. I know God never gives up on me and I certainly don’t want to give up on Him.
Everyday Elevation 