When God Smiles

Do you think God ever smiles at us? I'm pretty sure He often laughs at my antics. He may even shake His head a time or two as He watches my life unfold. Lol. I don't really know about all of that, but I do think that there are times when He is just pleased with us. 

I was chatting via messenger with some friends last week, and the topic of my mysterious illness came up. In 1986, with two small children, I became very ill. It's a long story, so I'll spare you the details. But during one of the hardest seasons of my life, I found myself in Psalm 57. It's a great psalm, and I held onto verse one throughout that storm, so much so that I'd have to say it is often my go-to verse. 

Psalm 57:1 says this: Be merciful unto me O God, be merciful unto me for my soul trusts in thee and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge until these calamities have passed by. Back then, I memorized it because I was literally too weak to hold up my Bible long enough to read it. It's a long story, really, and I'm working on writing out the storm that became my testimony.

As I was walking back through that storm in my mind this week, I thought of other times in my life when God had been my refuge. We all have stories, don't we? Our lives are made up of many series of ups and downs, trials and triumphs. I returned to Psalm 57 this morning and read through the psalm I lived. But I stopped in verse 7 today. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. My mind raced through this mysterious illness, a divorce, raising two kids alone, being thrown out of two vehicles in two different wrecks, sundry other trials, and then topped them all off with 15 years of caregiving for my son. I thought, I'm still seeking God. I'm still trusting Him. I'm still holding on to Him and going to Him, counting on Him to be my shelter. 

That's when it felt like He smiled.

Maybe He didn't literally smile, but I felt the warmth of it in my soul. Here we are in one of the toughest struggles life can throw at us - still trusting Him. Still counting on Him for guidance, to be our refuge, to keep our souls - we still trust Him. I think it makes Him smile.

Today, I will meditate on how God has always walked through the trials and struggles with me and never abandoned me once. I'll think about how I know it is His grace that has carried me this far- and will continue to carry me into this day. I'll remind myself that He has proved trustworthy, He knows who I am, and He today is not the day any of that will change. I believe I can trust Him for one more day - will you join me?

                                                                                                                  

Check out my latest release!.

I finally have my leadership Bible study guide available in all formats! It's a downloadable eBook in my Dove's Fire Ministries bookstore. And it's also available in print or Kindle version on my Amazon bookshelf!