A guest blog by our Community Curator, Janella Fox.  This is a powerful one folks!

Psalm 27:13 says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

How can we see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living? Where is His goodness when trials and pain come into our lives and relationships? How do we stand to trust in His goodness when we feel anger, hurt, fear, rejection, and pain? How do we get through the trials of this world and find victory and peace?

Unfortunately, it may be easier to see the darkness in the world because it is the first thing usually thrown in our faces. We see it everywhere, the news, media and in everyday conversations and interactions.  So, what if I don’t want to see the evil in the world? What if I don’t want to be bogged down with any negativity and sadness? What should I do?

It is only by prayer and seeking his face. It is by asking God to give me fresh eyes to see the world from his perspective. It is by choosing to love and declare God’s goodness even when I do not feel it.

I have had moments when I have been so frustrated and not wanting to see any good or positivity. I have felt angry, confused, and sad from problems of the world. I remember one day sitting in my room and crying out to God, where are You? Why do I feel angry and confused? Why is there so much evil and pain in the world? I just want peace and freedom for the world and for my own life.

The Lord graciously showed me at that moment that He is behind everything good, and even still, behind things that are wrong. He is continuously working everything out for His good, and if we look around we may see that there is more good happening in the world than bad. Yes, there is darkness happening, but if you look in a different direction, there is good happening. Imagine a family full of God’s love who are bringing new life into the world, people adopting children who need a family, or people who are working hard to give money to the poor. God’s goodness is more prevalent in this world than anything else.

In my own life, I have been in unhealthy relationships and have felt anger and heartache. I asked the Lord what good could have come out of such things. He showed me the good. He showed me that I now had an opportunity to forgive in a way I could never have learned before. He gifted me in revelation and showed me a supernatural love for the people that have hurt me. It only took surrender to God’s comfort and an open heart to receive His truth. From then on, my eyes were opened to a new way of seeing relationships and the world. While others still chose to see the darkness and negativity, I recited to the Lord: “I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” No matter what it takes. I must choose to see this goodness. It is a better way of living.
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Even when I don’t understand, I still choose. In fact, I have learned to ask the Lord to show me His goodness in every situation so that I may not be jaded by darkness and so my heart can stay protected. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Therefore, I do not want to focus on the darkness, and now I see that there is good in all of us that is hidden deep down inside and longing to burst forth into reality. We just need to have the eyes to see it and the mind to believe it.

If I have a relationship with a friend that is difficult and all I see are the faults of that person, I think I would more likely end up bitter towards them. However, if I choose not to believe the negatives about someone, and if instead, I choose to see their greater qualities, I guarantee that relationship will be of greater peace and joy.

I remember having a difficult friendship in college with someone that was very different from my personality. She was extroverted, I was introverted. She was strongly opinionated, and I strongly avoided confrontation. We clashed on many things and I began to think of her as someone who only cared about herself. Our relationship ended poorly, and I believed that I was in the right, yet I was still angry and resentful about how I felt she treated me. I did not realize until later in life that I could have seen things differently. Instead of seeing her as selfish and uncaring, I could have asked the Lord to show me the good in her heart. I now see that she was one who passionately loved and protected her friends. She came off strong because she was passionate about the injustices of the world. She only wanted to help people and desired connection. In fact, we all desire connection.

As humans, we fight in relationships and misunderstand one another. We become hurt by the other and forget that their hearts never had ill intent towards us in the first place. So, we let go of the knowledge that the person is good, and we give in to the defenses. We may start to see the negatives again and it may be difficult to come back to the goodness and love. But when all seems dark again, we can at least trust in the fact that deep down inside our hearts cry with longing to be loved and to find the good again.

We only want love, and this is good. We are good. I have given myself permission to believe that human hearts are not always evil. I believe that our hearts are good and only want to love others and receive love. I know the word “love” may be hard to hear sometimes because of how it has been twisted or misused in our lives. But God is a redeemer of all things true. He gladly purifies our hearts to see and know His true love and goodness for us. We are children of light and are meant to see and know God’s goodness. We were created for His love and goodness to reign in our lives. Now that Jesus came and overcame darkness, we can give him back the reigns of our hearts and the credit He deserves for all the good He is doing in the world. Now we can declare with our whole hearts: “I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

JANELLA FOX is a passionate ministry leader from Cleveland, Ohio and serves as our Community Curator.  She began writing for her mother, and in doing this, found her passion for writing. She graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2014 with a bachelor’s in psychology and went on to complete two years of BSSM ministry school.  Janella is newly married to her husband, Nate, and serving the Lord in various ministries.