I know I don’t post many blogs right now…the season I’m in, with 2 jobs and going back to school, just doesn’t allow for a lot of extra time. But I hope to occasionally, like I am now. Especially when something has been on my heart to share…

If you are anything like me, music can really speak to your heart. I mean REALLY! I’m not the most musical person…but I do love music. And I will often be moved in my heart and soul by a song that speaks to me.

There are a couple of songs that have been doing that for me lately. One of them is called “Hard Days” by Brantley Gilbert (yes, I do like country music), and the other is “Good God Almighty” by Crowder.

It is specifically the lyrics of both songs that have really spoken to me…

We don’t like hard days. We don’t want to experience heart break. We want all of our dreams to come true. We want to always be strong and never waiver in our faith or feel like life is more than we can handle at the moment.

We want to be comfortable. We want what we want, how and when we want it. We tell our self that is easier, and best…because we think we know what is best, and we enjoy our comfort.

Yes, being comfortable is enjoyable. In the moment. But comfort rarely leads to any kind of growth in us, or any change, or any life lessons learned. And, if we’ve never had any discomfort, would we really know what it means to experience comfort? How do we know we are in a comfortable moment if we have never gone through uncomfortable ones?

Sure, we think we know what is best for us. But do we always really? If we really did, we would never learn something we didn’t expect to learn. If we never went through something outside of our idea of what we think is best for us, would we gain perspective or strength or experience in new and different areas of life? If we always got our way, what we thought was best for us, would we ever learn to be thankful for what we have?

If we never had a broken dream, we would never learn how to be thankful for accomplishing a dream.

If we never had a hard day, we would never be able to recognize a good day.

One of my favorite lines in that song is “never had more than you can take, or carried the weight of life on your shoulders”. There are times when life gives us more than we can take, when the weight of everything we are dealing with feels crushing and overwhelming.

And the difficult truth is, God allows that. For our good. To teach us, grow us, mold and shape us. It’s not an easy truth to accept at times, because we want God to always do what we think is good for us. So when we experience difficulty we often think he’s not being good. But that is false thinking.

God knows what is best for us. Always. He is so far beyond our understanding, he is infinite while we are finite and limited. He knows what is coming, he knows what we need, and he knows what the best path in this life is for us. We may not always agree with him or see it at the moment, especially when it’s difficult. But he does. And this is where we have live out our faith and trust him.

Proverbs 3:5-7 says…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes…

6 years ago, I could not see the path that I’m currently on. I would have never chosen it, let alone imagined it. But God knew my path better than I did. He knew that today I would have jobs I never thought I’d have, which has taught me skills and given me experiences I would have never had otherwise. He knew I’d meet people, have conversations, and gain perspectives I wasn’t going to on my current path. He knew I’d experience success and defeat in ways I didn’t know I would, and that I’d be pursuing new dreams I wasn’t even aware were deep within me.

Would I be able to see the good that God is doing now had I not gone through hard days? Would I be pursuing new dreams had my old dreams not been broken? Would I have deeper understanding and knowledge had I not been forced to branch out from my comfort zone?

No. I would not have. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has made me who I am today…and in all of it I have been able to see that God is in fact good (even when I haven’t necessarily liked something at the moment).

Because he knows what I need better than I do. Because he is good. Because he is God. And because he is Almighty.

May I be found praising God’s name no matter what comes. May I remember his mercy on me, and that he has never actually let me down even in the hard days and difficult times. And may I continue to praise his name at the top of my lungs. In the bad days, and in the good days.

May we continue to Simply Follow Jesus in this life, regardless of the season we are in. May we rely on him, run to him, rest in him, and trust him with all of our heart. He will guide our path, and he does know what’s best for us. May we always remember that.

To God be ALL THE GLORY!