Ponder on the Kindness of God

Have you sat and pondered God's kindness to you lately?

I don't mean just dropping a quick thanks in prayer for God's faithfulness and moving on, but honestly reflecting on how the Lord has been faithful to you individually.

For the past few weeks, I've been contemplating the Lord's kindness to me through this hard season of COVID-19. The days have been long and tiring; I've never felt my fragility so magnified and prevalent. But this hard, unique season has provided me with a front-row seat to watching God's strength be magnified in my weakness.

Christine Hoover, a favorite writer of mine, started sharing nuggets of wisdom on Instagram she entitled "What Are the Gifts in This?" during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. She chronicled good gifts that resulted from the hard season we were in (and quite frankly are still in) due to the virus.

After reading her post, I began making my own list as well. Writing the lessons God taught me through this time helped me view this tough moment with less disdain and more thankfulness.

One enormous blessing our family has experienced during this pandemic has been our neighborhood friends, or as we affectionately call it — "the neighborhood fam." I knew these people were important to me before, but this circumstance showed me how much of a gift they are to our family. We would meet almost every night at our church's playground and spend time with one another (safely!). Whether it was playing made up games, discussing the day's trials, or laughing about nonsense, my heart always looked forward to seeing them every day.

Last week, the thought crossed my mind that if I had been preoccupied with everything that was falling apart, I could have missed the Lord's kindness painted so beautifully in my life. Don't get me wrong — it's hard not to get distracted, upset, or angry when all the world seems to be doing is shouting about our demise through a megaphone. But through his word, the Lord reminds us that he is upholding all things (Col. 1:17), even the hard, unforeseen ordeals that knock us off our feet and using them to make us more like his Son. And even through the hard trials, He continues to give good, undeserved gifts to his children (James 1:17). Not because they've somehow earned them, but because it magnifies and glorifies who HE is.

When you feel as if you might be crushed by the real and hard realities of life, friend, stop and ponder the Lord's kindness to you. Write them down. Look at them daily, if need be. Cling to the promises he has written in his word. These promises are the ones that are everlasting and eternal; regardless of how the world and culture changes, his word remains true.

"16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James 1:16-18