God is always with you and he is always good

This day I would like to write to you who have found yourself wandering in a desert.

I understand, I have been through the driest of seasons, I have faced days without feeling the touch of the water of life in my soul, and yet before you, I stand. How can this be? I ask myself. For surely, there was no escape, for surely there was no food, for surely there was no water for me to drink of in those days, in those months, in those years. 

Or so it did seem. And still, there are days, that yes I wander in this wilderness, but something happened … I began to believe that though the land I walked was dry and fruitless, I knew my God was not. I knew, that His word was true. I began to pray and meditate on the word, and I saw this:

”In my desperation, I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!“ (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

See I was not removed from the wilderness, but I began to believe that something happens when you cry out to Him. I began to believe the stories where the Israelites cried out and manna fell from the heavens, they cried out for a drink and water poured forth from the rock, I believed when Christ said, ”But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

I think sometimes we are afraid to cry out, we are afraid to show our weakness, and we are afraid that our prayers won’t be answered; but, we serve a God who answers prayer … not in our timing, not in our understanding, but in exactly the way that will bring life to our soul if we trust, if we believe, if we cry out.

And so I write this to you, who are hurting, who are dry, who are weary, please, begin to believe and stop trusting in your own understanding because it will always lead you astray, it will always lead you deeper into the desert, for the God we serve moves in a way that will always be beyond what we could ever imagine. Drink in His goodness, and walk through the desert hand in hand, knowing even in this dry season, He is with you, and He is always good.

Justin Gardner pastors at River of Life Fellowship, 702 Church St., Sandpoint. The church can be reached at 208-255-7111.