When everything around us seems to be going wrong and our life is crumbling at the foundations, we lose sight of God’s goodness because we are shrouded in the feelings and thoughts created by our circumstances. Personally, I struggle to see God’s goodness when things aren’t going the way I think they should be. Every Christian has this struggle at some point in time. We forget that when we signed up to be a part of God’s army, we really were signing up for an army. There will be battles to fight, giants to face, and dreams to lay aside. God did not promise that life would be easy: He told us to take up our cross and follow him.

Perhaps we need to be reminded that it was not without reason that Isaiah called Jesus “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Follow Him down the path that he took — a path that was paved with pain, suffering, heartache, trial, temptation, frustration, and even death. If we take His path we will surely experience all of these things.

However, if we stick to the path laid out for us in scripture, trusting in Him, God will reveal to us His goodness, His grace, and His love. He promised to pick us up when we fall, to carry us when we have no strength, and to lead us to a glorious finish and a new beginning. Because of His goodness, I can’t wait to pick up my cross again tomorrow, even though it seems heavy. If I am in His will, He will help me carry it.