The BEST Good

Hey friends, I realize it’s been forever since I’ve written on here. I just wanted to acknowledge that, and say it feels good to be back. 🙂 I actually just wrote this piece below for a devotional writing challenge, but thought it would be an appropriate piece to jump back into blogging with!

I am an Army wife, but have yet to write anything military related…until now. I never planned on writing a devotional based on my experiences from August 2, 2017. Frankly, there’s only a few people in my life who I talked to regarding that day. But when I sat down to write a devotional, the words really just fell onto the page. As I’ve been reflecting on the events of last August, I’ve been reflecting on all that God taught me during that time, and how Psalm 16 became one of my rocks I clung to. So, friend, whether you are an Army wife or not, I hope this encourages and inspires you.

Psalm 16:1-2: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’”

“Your Paratrooper is safe.” My clenched heart relaxed, but only for a moment. The voice on the other end identified herself as a Key Caller from Alpha Company. The reason for her call drastically changed the tone of our first deployment. Two other soldiers who were serving in the Army overseas with my husband were killed, and several were severely wounded. Two A-Company wives would not be reunited with their husbands eight months later like the rest of us.

During deployment I faced a very scary but very real question. If there was another vehicular suicide bomb, and my husband was the soldier killed, would the Lord be enough for me? Would I really, in my heart of hearts be able to say that I have absolutely no good apart from my Maker?

It’s not likely that your husband is an Army Paratrooper and recently spent nine months in a combat zone. But that’s ok. Facing the question “is the Lord truly enough for me?” can be asked by anyone facing any kind of difficult situation unexpectedly thrown our way. Even if we have been walking with the Lord for a long time, often we reflect on His blessings and joyful experiences as being good more than we reflect on God being good. I know that God delights in giving us good gifts because we are His children. I believe that when we smile over His blessings, God’s heart is glad. However, what happens when those gifts are wrapped in the package of a hazardous nine month deployment? What felt like living on the edge of my seat deeply grew my trust in God and His plan for my life. So what does delighting in the Lord look like?

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

I love how the author explains setting the Lord before you, and how in the Lord’s presence we find joy. But those things cannot happen unless, with humble hearts, we keenly focus upon the majesty of our God, and are awed by Him. That’s when we realize that He far exceeds everything and everyone else on this whole earth. That profound realization of “wow”…God is good, and there is truly absolutely nothing good that is apart from Him.

In March 2018, my husband did return from deployment – thank you, God! But for the past eight months, Psalm 16 became my daily “check-in-verse” as I desired to abide in Christ more, and fall in love with Christ more. As I prepared for my husband’s homecoming with jitters of anticipation, I thought about the ultimate homecoming when I leave to go meet my Maker. If this homecoming of a bride reuniting with her groom caused this much anticipation and joy, how much far greater will that homecoming be of the Bride the church being united with Christ the Bridegroom? Let us all, as daughters of the King, live abiding in Him so deeply that we can proclaim ALL of our good is found in the Lord.