Martha Olawale

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness… The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:22-23,25

Talking from a place of God’s goodness comes from the seed of gratitude and intentionality. It’s not the human default because we are wired to think of what doesn’t work and ignore what does. While God permits tears and lavishes us with love in our seasons of pain, it’s always good to speak from a place of His goodness despite our circumstances. We can’t reduce God to a moment in time because of weariness when He wraps the universe, defining times and seasons in His hands.

It takes reminding our soul as Luke said in Luke 12:19, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” While there are a million and one things that pull us to focus on the obstacles and cliffs we scale over daily, the goodness of God speaks louder. It speaks to the innermost part of our souls because the longer we walk with God, the more our soul responds to the truth of His goodness.

The Book of Lamentations is filled with emotions, but even that Book speaks of God’s goodness. In chapter 3, verse 25, it says, “The Lord is good,” meaning, for every one reason to bury yourself in gloom, there is a million reason to remember the goodness of God. If all you can do at the moment of your trials is to focus on the undeniable truth of God’s presence, it will revitalize you for the journey ahead.

When we glorify our emotions above God, they consume us. Yes, I experience the dark side of life, and yes, my spirit gets rattled. However, I want to speak from a place of His goodness and not my weakness. I want to talk of the little lamp He shines on my path to break through the thick darkness more than the darkness itself. I want my focus to be on the safe boat He provides to carry me through the roaring sea more than the vastness of the sea. I want to speak from a place of all the triumphs I’ve enjoyed walking with God more than the battles I’ve faced.

When I do that, I remind my soul and the people around me that I live conscious of the person I'm walking with, not what Martha can and cannot do. I see beyond the waves because if I keep my eyes on the sea, it will drown me. In addition, if I focus on the darkness long enough, it will blind me. The truth and only truth is I'm not walking alone, and the one who stands by me is worthy of all adoration.