Soul Stirrings: Believe it or not...

"Wow! God has been SO good to me."

This is the most common response I hear when I share about my time in Ethiopia.

This is the response when I tell about the mother who begged us to take her child. A mother who felt that the pain of giving her child to a stranger she knew nothing about, would somehow be more tolerable than the pain of daily hearing her son cry from hunger. A thought that is probably unimaginable to you. Yet if you could have seen her face when she realized we weren't going to take her son, you would have understood her pain. A look I still see; a pain I still feel.

"God has been SO good to me."

This is the response when I tell of the boy who was on the verge of death by malnutrition- just 1 year old, weighing no more than 10 pounds. Who now, because of the generosity of many donors and the work of compassionate Ethiopian doctors has access to health care at the recently opened hospital in rural Ethiopia. A chance at living that simply wasn't there for the hundreds of children before him.

"God has been SO good to me."

This is the response when I tell them about sweet Mimi and how her mother lost her grass hut to a fire and lost her husband to an illness. Now widowed, living in a half-built hut that offers little protection, she was on the brink of losing hope. Her body weakened and eyes heavy from the weight of the burden of being all alone with 7 hungry kids to feed. A mom who found a shred of hope that day as she welcomed us into her home and we, her brothers and sisters in Christ, gathered around and prayed with her. We held her baby, and provided food, clothing and gifts for the kids. We shared her burden and lightened her load. She experienced the love of God in a very tangible way that day because of a generous sponsor family who answered the call to care for the poor and needy and entered into their lives for such a time as this.

"God has been SO good to me."

This is the response when I talk about the feeding program and how, because of God's provision through donors near and far, hundreds of kids will eat a full meal each day. They wait patiently in line for their turn, and then eat every grain of rice and crumb of bread given to them. There is MUCH joy and laughter surrounding this meal. For most of these children it's the only food they'll eat that day, and yet I can't count how many children offered me their food as I sat next to them.

"God has been SO good to me."

This is the response when I talk about how the church, accessible only by foot, was standing room only. How their praises were LOUD and UNIFIED and unbelievably visceral. How one by one the people came. People who haven't eaten in days, sleep on dirt floors, and work in harsh conditions. People who have known hardship few of us have experienced. People who walk the same path through miles of countryside every week just to get to church. A path well-worn with the weight of burdens being carried to the Lord. A path with ruts cut with the deep need to be with brothers and sisters in Christ who journey on that same long road. A path paved with feet propelled by the urgency to worship the God who has been SO good to them.

Yes, God has been good to us. But, God is good to them, too.

It seems only right for us who sit in our air-conditioned homes, sipping on our purified water, with our cupboards full of food to say God has been good to us. And we are right. God has been good to us. And yet, though their circumstances are often grim, many Ethiopian's whole heartedly believe in God's goodness. They are acutely aware that their very lives depend on God's provision. They sing and pray and cry out to God from a deep place of KNOWING.

Maybe you too heard the stories and find yourself instinctively agreeing "God has been SO good to me." And yet maybe you, like me, find that as the words pass by your lips they are hollow.

Do I really believe in the secret spaces of my heart that God is good?

That's a hard question to answer, but it is vital.

Many of you, like me, will tell yourself you really don't have it that bad, and will guiltily profess with your mouth that God is good, all the while harboring a heart full of doubts.

When you say "God has been SO good to me", do you believe it? Or is it just a nice thing to say?

Maybe you are in the middle of a trial that threatens to take everything from you. Maybe you feel anxious about the world we live in and about what tomorrow may hold. Maybe your heart aches for more. Maybe you feel forgotten.

Maybe, though you are surrounded with treasures and love and abundance, you've never felt more lonely.

King David had the same questions.

"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶I will sing the Lord’s praise,

for he has been good to me."

Psalm 13

How can David feel this kind of angst, and yet, in the end declare with sincerity of heart that "He has been good to me"?

David knew that God's character is immutable.
Circumstances change. People change. But God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
He is always good.

That means when life can't get any sweeter, God is good. That means when the world comes crashing in, God is good. That means when I don't see God's goodness and my mouth is filled with empty words, God is still good.

God is still good, because God is still God.

Whether you live in America or Ethiopia, whether you live in plenty or in want, whether you believe it or not, GOD IS GOOD! You can trust in His unfailing love. You can rejoice in His salvation!

Lift your head, dear one, for the story isn't finished. Lift your hands and praise His name for the best is yet to come!