God’s “lovingkindness” is no mere sentimental feeling — it is His covenant faithfulness and redemptive power. Having promised, in effect, never to harm us, His lovingkindness is the quality that keeps Him from breaking that promise.
Real hope is the kind that rests in God’s power, wisdom, and goodness even when, from our vantage point, we can see no desirable outcome of the problem. It is the assurance of God’s trustworthiness, no matter what happens.
God knows more about our needs than we do. And when our hearts are broken by the pain and emptiness of some need that must, for the time being, remain unfulfilled, our hearts do not hurt half as much as He hurts on our behalf.
If you actually expect to see your Father in heaven, it will show in your face. “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” There are no brighter faces in the world than the faces of those who are turned toward God.
If we truly love God, there won’t be a day when we aren’t fired by the expectation of looking upon His face in heaven. That’s what the gospel is about. Death is not the end — it is the beginning of what Christ died to make possible for us.
Abundance presents a challenge for us. When we have not only what we need but more than we need, it is not easier to enjoy life, as most people think, but much harder. The poor man has the advantage of being hungry enough to enjoy every little thing.
Foolishly, we assume that getting the wealth we desire will provide the freedom to enjoy life and open the door to happiness. But that won’t be the result if God doesn’t grant the enjoyment of the things He permits us to acquire.
Whenever there is something we can do and we know that we can do it, we are tempted to believe our strength is our own: this is our ability, we have learned how to do this thing, and so forth. We begin to feel independent and self-sufficient.
We shouldn’t expect life as a Christian — at least in this world, marred as it is by the intrusion of sin — to be anything other than difficult. There will be some pleasant days now and then, but we should guard against unrealistic expectations.
We should make plans, but we should keep in mind that they may not materialize. The world would be a poorer place if all our plans did materialize, for God’s plans are much better than ours and we can be glad that His take precedence.