By Karina Allen

This is why I wait upon you, expecting your breakthrough,
for your word brings me hope.

- Psalm 130:5

With the state of the world, it’s hard to wrap our minds around the goodness of God and suffering around the globe. The next level is trying to understand God’s goodness in relation to our own hardships or those of our loved ones.

Context is key, and perspective is everything.

My life has been no walk in the park. I was born into hard circumstances. I was born into all manner of dysfunction and sinful living. I was neglected and abused. Trauma was my existence.

But God.

He came in as the rescuer that He is and rescued me. He didn’t rescue me from my circumstances as much as He rescued me within them. He saved my heart and soul and mind from the enemy. He saved me from myself. Where I am today is only because of His grace and mercy.

A friend recently told me that I had every reason to run from God, but I chose to run toward Him and let Him use my life for His glory. I cried tears of awe and gratitude. It was His goodness that drew me in when I was in college. It was His goodness that held me in hard times over the last two decades. It is His goodness that reminds me that He will continue to be faithful in the days ahead.

If I’m not vigilant, the noise and brokenness of this world can distract me from God’s character. My focus can easily become fixed on everything that’s wrong instead of the God that is right.

But there are a million and one ways that God displays His goodness. Psalm 130 highlights a few of them:

Lord, if you measured us and marked us with our sins,
who would ever have their prayers answered?
But your forgiving love is what makes you so
wonderful.
No wonder you are loved and worshiped!

Psalm 130:3-4

The very nature of God is holy and righteous, and He literally cannot be in the presence of sin. Then there’s us — fallen humanity. When Adam and Eve sinned, it separated us from God’s presence, but it never separated us from His love. The amazing thing about God is that He had a contingency plan. He had Jesus. Before He laid the foundations of the world, He knew we would go astray. And He made a way for us to be restored back to relationship with Him.

He bows down low to hear our prayers. And He always answers, although it may not be in our timing or the answer we wanted. He extends mercy to sinners and those that are working out their salvation. He forgives and He forgets.

This is why I wait upon you, expecting your breakthrough,
for your word brings me hope.

Psalm 130:5

His faithfulness is just that — faithful. He is the God who doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His Word is flawless and speaks life to weary souls. It brings hope and breakthrough about the future. His kindness leads us to repentance, and His gentleness invites us to come boldly before His throne of grace. He would and did pay the highest price for our redemption.

When times get tough for me or for my community, I want to plant my feet firmly on the truth of God’s Word and what I have experienced of Him.

I have experienced nothing short of God’s unconditional love, extravagant grace, and unrelenting goodness. His goodness is real and steadfast. It’s for me. It’s for you. It’s for the world.

Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. I can trust You because You never change. Thank You for that gift! Help me run to You instead of away from You when things get tough. Amen.

Karina Allen is devoted to helping women live out their unique calling and building authentic community through the practical application of Scripture in an approachable, winsome manner.