Life is Messy, But God is Good

We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, CEB)

It has been one of those weeks where I am reminded that life is messy. I realize some people can tolerate more messiness than others. Some of you know my desk tends to be cluttered, what some would even call messy. Honestly, most of the time, I know where most things are on my desk; but either way I know I can probably tolerate life’s messes a little more than others.

Yet, I’m like most of you. I also enjoy it when everything just seems to work the way it is supposed to. I prefer there to not be messes. I desire for my life to be organized and run according to plan. But plans don’t always work out.

In those moments when life gets messy, when things don’t go as we planned, we have a choice. We have a choice about how to respond. We can respond with faith, or we can respond without faith.

My uncle said goodbye to his wife this past Sunday. She had been suffering from severe dementia the past couple of years, he has asked me to officiate her funeral next week. My prayer as I prepare for this family gathering is that I can somehow help them respond with faith. Faith that God is somehow working in the mess, that God will reveal his goodness to them amid their pain.

As I come alongside those for whom life is messy, I don’t try to candy coat their situation, or challenge them to just “look on the bright side.” I try to help them realize that even in the midst of life’s messes God is working. Sometimes we can’t see God’s hand until much time has passed, sometimes we can’t understand how God was working until someone else points it out to us. Regardless, we have a choice about how to respond to the mess.

What messes has life thrown at your recently? How have you responded? The author of Hebrews describes faith as “the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see” (Hebrews 11:1, CEB) I pray that we can be a people who even though we don’t always see God at work, that we can stand faithful.

In the heart of the season of COVID quarantine, the song Way Maker became very popular. As I think about life’s messiness, I am thankful for the truth expressed in this song.

“Even when I don’t see it, You’re working
Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working
You never stop, You never stop working
You never stop, You never stop working”

You can listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/29IxnsqOkmQ

Will you pray with me?

Lord thank you for your presence in life’s messiness. Help us to be a people who respond to life’s messiness with grace and faith. Help us to see you working, and when we don’t see you, that we would choose faith. Be with those whose life feels “messy” to them right now. Help them to know that you are with them in the middle of the mess. Help us to realize sometimes we are in a mess of our own making, but also that sometimes the mess really isn’t our fault. We pray this believing you are working for the good of those “who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom 8:28, NLT). Amen.

Pastor Shawn