“The Lord is good. A strength and stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge and trust in Him,” Nahum 1:7

Aloha!

I just returned from a 10-day getaway to Arizona with my husband. The Lord is good! I was looking forward to some times of refreshing. The Lord is good! We would get to see our son, Toby, as well as go to the wedding of a young man who grew up at NSCF. The Lord is good! My husband got a free upgrade on our car rental in AZ. – a new black Chevy Camaro. This was the car of his dreams – the Lord is good!

It’s so natural for us to say the phrase “The Lord is good” when life is going well isn’t it? But it’s also equally true that when troubling times come our way – the Lord is still good. He is always good. His unchanging nature is good… all the time. Psalm 145:9 tells us that, “The Lord is good” to all people, in all places, in all situations, and at all times.

In spite of how things look, feel, or appear - God is good! I was reminded of this unchanging truth about the character of God while driving for miles and miles in the AZ desert. There was nothing but sand and tumbleweeds all around. Everywhere you looked the land was dry, dusty and dingy brown. It definitely didn’t appear to look good to me! I missed seeing the lush, vivid green plants we have here in the islands. The only green living thing was the saguaro cactus! In case you don’t know, the saguaro cactus is very slow growing. It can take 8-10 years for one of these cacti to grow an inch! Imagine that! It will typically take 50 years before it grows its first arm. They can live up to 200 years, and grow to be 40 to 60 feet tall.  We saw literally 100’s upon 100’s of saguaro cactus! These special cacti were scattered about the landscape with a distinct beauty of their own. Their arms extended upward toward the heavens standing high and appearing to exalt the Lord. In the midst of miles and miles of desert and sand, those cacti were saying to me, the Lord is good.

BTW, Saguaros have an intricate root system. A single taproot grows straight down about 5 feet to access water that’s stored deep underground. That’s how they’re able to survive the seasons of drought. In the same way, we need to grow deep roots in God’s Word, obeying and abiding in His truth that sustains.

Plus, many cacti provide an “apartment” in the desert to a number of desert birds! What a haven and refuge!  God is good!

OK, you get it! The Lord is good – in good times, dry times, lush times, desert times – no matter what “time” you’re going through – the Lord is good! God bless you as you pray for others this month!

Pressin’ on ~ Karen