God Is Always Good.

Christmas break was over. Early the next morning, I was headed to the airport to fly back to California. My mom tried her hardest to convince me to arrive at the airport more than an hour and a half before my departure time. I was not having it – "Absolutely not. In case you forgot, I've traveled quite a bit. I'm a pro at this routine. And it's the Greenville airport. How busy can they possibly be?"

Somewhat peremptory, I arrive no more than 50 minutes prior to the departure time. I insert my major credit card into the self check-in kiosk, and casually wait for my reservation to pop up on the screen. To my slight surprise it comes back "Reservation Not Found." OK, no worries, just try again. I receive the same message a second time. OK, now I'm a little concerned, but I'm a pretty laid back person, so I'll just talk to the counter agent. She'll fix everything. [Insert lesson number one: write down your conformation number (It's never important until you need it – profound I know).] The minutes pass by as I dig out my computer, power it up, connect to the internet and retrieve my conformation number. I give it to the counter agent and she begins to make phone calls to straighten things out. The hands on the clock are moving closer and closer to my departure time. Things are not looking good.

Finally she confirms the flight info and sends me running through the airport as they hold the plane for me. [Insert lesson number two: don't pack a lamp in your carry-on.] Security requires a search of my bag, which seemingly takes eons.... And I've now missed my flight – Thank you TSA. My parents are standing by, using every ounce of self-control to not say "we told you so." With my head down, trying not to feel defeated, I head back to the ticket counter so we can somehow find a way to get me from Greenville to Sacramento today.

I know you've learned two valuable lessons, but perhaps you're looking for the deeper meaning of this story. Here's the more. As the ticket agent searches every possible route and airline to get me to Sacramento, I catch myself thinking "What did I do wrong? I must have done something wrong to cause this dreadful situation. Is God mad at me? I should have prayed for so-and-so. I knew I should have talked to friends more about what God's been doing in my life. God must not be happy with me because I didn't spend enough time with Him over break. Maybe if I had done those things, this wouldn't be happening to me." YIKES!! Where did those thoughts come from?!? The really scary part is that most of what God's been showing me through school is that He is good all of the time. If I'm steeped in this realization of God's goodness, yet I still have these thoughts, how much more will someone who sees the Father as some angry person waiting to punish them when they mess up, think these things?

Do you ever catch these thoughts running through your head? What do you do with them? Do you reject them or do you let the circumstance dictate God's character. His nature is good. He can't not be good. And He's definitely not looking for ways to "punish" you or "teach you a lesson." That way of thinking is quite absurd. Yet I catch those thoughts in me. So when life comes at you do you cling to the truth - that He is a good Father that gives good gifts - or does your mind convince you otherwise?

He can't love you any more than He does. And it has nothing to do with what you do or do not do.

He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. - Zeph 3:17

What Am I Really Believing?

Sometimes I wonder if we really believe the things we claim as truth. Example...Would you say the following statements are true?

• God is good all the time and He's in a good mood.
• My prayers are powerful and effective to bring change.
• God heals all of our diseases.
• I hear the Father's voice.
• I am His son. I am His daughter.
• We are spiritual beings and in a spiritual battle.
• I am royalty.
• God is my Provider.
• God's love is a gift. I must do nothing, but receive it. It's not a love based on performance.
• God is more interested in my relationship with Him than what I do for Him.

Now, would someone who looks at your life attest to your belief in these statements? Would you say your daily life and thoughts demonstrate that you truly believe these statements?

Too often we let our mind train our spirit, though it should be the reverse. How often does your personal experience, religious tradition or the cultural consensus stand above the Word of God? I'll be the first to admit that this happens all too often in my life. It is so incredibly vital that we don't allow our circumstances or personal experiences to dictate the truth of God's Word and promises. I can't stress this enough in my own life. Personally, I have to continually declare His promises when my experiences don't seem to line up with them. I must until it becomes a truth at my very core. And even then, I again, have to declare it.

For me, I would say I agree 100% with these statements. Yet I catch myself thinking or acting contrary to what they proclaim. In the next couple of blogs, I want to illustrate what this looks like in my life. And perhaps this series will expose ways you respond to situations counter to the truth.

I hope you stay tuned.