Suggested Readings: Psalm 126, Exodus 12:21-27, John 11:45-57
Sometimes, we feel as though the entire world is against us. The work seems to be piling on endlessly, the ends of our favorite pair of pants are fraying, and some of the people in our lives are not as they seem. As life starts to beat down on us, we often start to have doubt fester in our hearts and minds. Why would the Lord let these hardships happen to us? If he loves us, then why do our knees buckle under the pressure?
When we begin to feel this way, we must remember that the Lord gives us hardships to help us appreciate the good in life. He doesn’t want us to suffer. He wants us to look back and be grateful for what we have. When he gives us a reason to doubt, he gives us ten times more reasons to smile. Psalm 126: 5-6 reads,
Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy. Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seeds, will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves.
signifying how the Lord knows that life requires balance, layering the good with the bad. We are so obsessed with the pursuit of happiness, that we tend to forget that the goal in life is to be content.
While he teaches us that life has the lowest lows, the highest highs, and all those in between, he protects us when it matters most. In Exodus 12:21-27, the Bible shares how Moses gives instructions to the Israelites on how to protect themselves when the Lord goes to strike down the Egyptians. When life gets a little too hard, he will always come to give us some grace and instruct us how to stay safe.
I hope that in this Lenten season, we learn to be a little bit more grateful for the good things in life by looking for the simple joys in life, recognizing small gestures of love, and appreciating warm acts of kindness.
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