Good Like a Medicine

Tuesday morning a friend in my bible study discussion group made a comment about the promises of Psalm 4 in light of the distressing times in our economy. I let the balm of Scripture sink deep into my mind throughout the day and have been thinking about that passage ever since.

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

– Psalm 4: 6-8

I remember in college I used to babysit for a couple with four small children (hmmm, sounds familiar!), and one evening, I don’t recall why, we were discussing their journey of faith through a period with very little finances. One of them said, “We used to sit down on Friday night and roll our pennies, and on Saturday we would go to the grocery store.” I looked around their home, and although it was not fancy, they had everything they wanted and more. They had an incredibly beautiful family, and I would have argued that they were some of the most influential people in my hometown. I thought to myself, “That’s amazing, but Lord, I don’t ever want to be rolling pennies!”

Fast-forward four years, and my husband and I found ourselves on the beans and rice diet. There were several months that we saw very little in our kitchen pantry and felt much stress on our couches. We had a young baby, bills, unforeseen emergency expenses, and we did not have the experience yet in our relationship to be good at managing our home together in this way. We were on a rocky boat, and we didn’t like it. Our pillows, however, always held our heads in sweet slumber, and it was truly because at the end of the day, we believed Psalm 4:8. In our frailty and immaturity, we had a firm anchor. We honestly believed in the God we could not see, and we trusted that His sovereign hand ruled over all things. He was taking care of us.

Several years later we find ourselves here, weeks before a presidential election, with four small children of our own, and we have the same hope that is anchored in the steady hand of God. God is not surprised by anything that comes down the pipe to us. He ordains every breath and step. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but the Author and Perfecter of our faith answers the question, “Who will show us some good?” with a resounding I am.

Eric and I can look back over the last several years, and not one time has God failed to provide for us. It is amazing. People who don’t believe in God and don’t know Jesus cannot understand this! He truly takes care of His children, and many times he has a sense of humor about it. The “beans and rice phase,” for example (by the way, I still eat beans and rice all the time because they are just awesome)… anyway, some good friends (Carrie, you know who you are!) with the same amount of small children as us came by one evening during that time with steaks, saying, “We just wanted to bless you and come eat dinner.” That was one of the best memories of Christian fellowship in our home we can remember (plus, what could be more entertaining than me popping the potatoes in the microwave WITH the foil still on?)!

A few weeks after Shepherd was born a couple in our congregation mailed us a very large amount of money. The attached note conveyed that they knew from having four kids that it is not cheap to have a large family and that they hoped to bless us in gratitude for God’s grace working through us at the church. Just a few weeks later Steven was hospitalized, and later we smiled to see how God so perfectly and faithfully took care of those medical bills. That is just one story in one family in one city of one part of the world of the provision of God. What joy, more joy than grain and the best wine, there is to know the Lord.

He is amazing, and if we trust Him completely without wavering, we will be blessed to see how He will show us some good, no matter what. And ultimately, the good that we all are longing to see is the favor of God, his face shining on us, and that is freely, freely given in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah.