Psalm 145:17, 18
“The LORD is righteous in everything he does; 
he is filled with kindness. 
The LORD is close to all who call on him, 
yes, to all who call on him in truth.” (NLT)

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It’s amazing how the same set of facts can yield such different conclusions depending on who is reporting them. Spin and worldview shape the news we receive and the conclusions we reach. News services like 1440 and Tangled help. They are short on fluff and long on detail. You get to draw your own conclusions.  

Here is a fact that is indisputable: God is right. He is right about everything. He is right in everything he does. Feel free to disagree. As one curmudgeonly deacon told me once upon a time, “You can be wrong if you want to.”

There are times when every one of us has wondered if God was right in what he allowed. No sinful act ever originates in the heart of God. The problems and pains arising from disobedience are not his fault. The blame belongs to the perpetrators. 

Neither is God responsible for any unkindness. As observed previously, his just action does not always feel nice. Nice and kind are not the same thing. Kind works for what is right, just, fair, and compassionate. Nice works to keep things pleasant. Hard right things are not always nice. Justice can feel like loss. What’s really fair may feel unfair, and that’s not very nice, but it’s kind. 

Our Father in Heaven “is close to all who call on him.” He is as near as your next breath, as real as your next heartbeat, more trustworthy than tomorrow’s sunrise. 

When we bring our true selves, our raw reality to him in deep dependence, he never turns us away. He doesn’t always give us what we say we want or when we say we want it. Whatever he says and does is perfectly loving and unquestionably kind. It may not seem so now, but one day it will make sense. 

Today is a good day to enter God’s presence as real and as raw as our gut feelings. It’s a good day to trust that he is near and leaning in to listen. It’s a good time to trust his kindness. It’s a good time to depend that whatever he says and does is right now and right forever. Every moment is a piece of a puzzle being put together by him leading to a picture more beautiful than we can imagine. 

Today is a good day to pray with King David, to turn his words to God into your words to God. Turn his faith and trust into your faith and trust

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I will pray with King David and trust sGod from the bottom of my heart.

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Our Father, you always do what is right. You have never done wrong, and you will not start now. I trust that whatever you bring into my life is a gracious gift of your kindness. I trust that you are closer than I have ever acknowledged and that I can safely bring all that I am into your perfect presence. You will receive me as I am and leave me better than when I came. I belong to you. Amen.