Can anything good come from this?

Seems I’m mulling that question over more than usual lately. Maybe you are too. Sometimes I’m asking in a seeking-an-answer kind of way. Other times it’s more of a throw-my-hands in the air kind of way. Because each day brings another heaping load of frustrating, discouraging circumstances.

People clashing, voices shouting, separation building instead of the coming together we long for after the last round of reality. In all the mess, I really want to know from God. What’s the plan? I know you can work all this together for good, but I just don’t see it.

It’s true that right now, things look pretty bleak any way we turn. And it’s also true that the worse things get, the more overwhelmed we feel. Because problems seem to grow and grow, without any restoration in sight.

So what do we do when that question plays on repeat, “Can anything good come from this?” How do we keep a hope-filled heart in times of such turmoil? We remember the truth.

There will be good. We can count on it.

“So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.” Acts 16:24 NLT

Paul and Silas were thrown in prison. They cast a demon out of a fortune-teller, and her boss had them arrested since it affected his income.

The guard locked them in and stood watch. He alone would be held responsible if the prisoners escaped. Not that it would even be possible, considering their surroundings.

But God performed a miracle and opened the doors of the jail, allowing Paul and Silas the opportunity to escape unharmed.

Paul and Silas could have gotten sidetracked with the miracle that day. God freed them! As preachers of the gospel message, they could’ve left the prison behind without giving it another thought.

But their hearts drew them to the one. The one least likely to seek forgiveness. The one who’d put them in chains in the first place. Jesus had a plan, and his plan always focuses on the ONE.

“The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas...Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:29-30

Paul stopped the jailer from taking his own life, so he took Paul and Silas to his home, cared for them, and gave them a meal. He and everyone in his household were saved and baptized right then.

I can imagine how the church felt that day, with Paul and Silas in chains. Helpless. In despair. Frustrated over circumstances beyond their control. Wondering if anything good could come from this. And with overflowing mercy and grace, God answered.

Because with God, something good will always come of it. We can count on it.

So when hopelessness sets in and we struggle to see how things could possibly work out, we can rest in the truth the jailer discovered. We are Jesus’ plan. We are his focus. No miracle is too great when it comes to drawing our hearts to him.

Blessings,

Kristine

The off-white carpet reeked of spoiled milk and dog hair. Apple juice spills seemed to surface out of nowhere and never go away. Why would we buy a house with off-white carpet anyway? I chastised myself.

Now sitting here with my four-year-old boy and black labradoodle, this stay-at-home mom realized lighting another candle wouldn’t help. It came down to this. Either buy one more area rug to cover up the latest stain, or break down and clean the carpet. Knowing an area rug would only provide temporary relief, I surrendered and wagged out the heavy carpet shampooer.

Keeping the boy busy playing in his room and the dog outside gave me the space needed to turn this shabby living area back into a showplace. My excitement grew just thinking about it! Look at me. Super mom. It only took an hour, and just as I finished the final pass of hot steam revealing renewed flooring in all its glory, the unthinkable happened.

Hearing a scratch at the back door, my little helper darted from his room. Before I could stop him he opened the door, allowing a 70 pound crusher of dreams to bound through the living room.

Did I mention it was raining?

His muddy paws left trails every which way as I raced to catch him. My efforts were unsuccessful. By the time he settled down, I felt an anger bubble inside me unlike anything I’d ever felt.

And I screamed.

Not just any normal I’m-a-little-upset-at-you scream. This was the kind that forms deep in the gut and burns your throat as it comes out. The kind that makes you stop and look around to see who else is in the room. Because that couldn’t have been you.

“GO TO YOUR ROOOOOOOM!” I aimed my anger at my child who was just trying to help. And he obeyed.

Oh how I wish I could have that day back. Because in the quiet of the aftermath, I realized I just needed a moment in God’s presence to bring my perspective back to where it needed to be.

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10

The psalmist who wrote today’s verse knew the wonders of spending just a minute in the presence of the Lord. He compares one day with God to a thousand away from Him. This message speaks volumes to my guilty heart in a fresh new way today.

Life is filled with mistakes we wish we could take back. But God’s Word ushers in peace and grace right when we need it. One day - one minute - one moment at a time.

If one day with God will provide relief to last a thousand, how much will a single moment in his presence provide the peace we need to get through today’s challenges? So when life seems out of control and we struggle to hold it together, let’s remember this.

One minute in God’s presence will revive my withered perspective.

In the brief moment following the infamous scream incident, I reached out to God, and He met me there. His presence turned the whole atmosphere of our home into something new. Something a steam cleaner could never do. He renewed my withered perspective, and the rest of our day was filled with playing, hugging, loving, and living in His blessings.

What sweet, sweet restoration it was.

I still sometimes wish I could relive that day. Do it over with a changed vision and attitude. But I tell you this story today to offer hope.

I pray in these turbulent days you are able to find just one moment to be in His presence. Whether you’re at home attempting to keep the kids busy, an essential worker in need of rest, or an empty-nester longing for connection. One moment in His loving care is far better than a thousand anywhere else. One moment to embrace the grace to see us through.

Blessings,

Kristine