“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” Psalm 78:4b
After the chemical injury I experienced in February 1998, the Lord showered His goodness upon me in various ways. For a couple years after the injury, I was bedridden anywhere from sixteen to twenty hours per day. Because of this, I needed a lot of help to carry out my duties as wife and mother in areas such as driving my kids to school and cleaning my house. The Lord provided people to fill in these gaps for me. In addition, since I was too ill to continue working part-time for my husband’s business, he hired an assistant to replace me. Because these various responsibilities were lifted from me, it allowed me to spend more quality time focusing on my family. Since I didn’t have a lot of energy, many days I would just hang out with my kids in their rooms while they read, did their homework, or played. During this time period, I developed a close relationship with my children. What a gift that was.
Another way the Lord showed His goodness to me during that year was to help me change my view of myself. Prior to the chemical injury, I felt like a failure if I didn’t have a lot of energy and wasn’t producing a lot. After the injury, the Lord showed me that even if I had to lay in bed the rest of my life and accomplish nothing, God would still love me and value me greatly. My works are not what He’s looking for—it’s my heart He’s most concerned with. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says this:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Lastly, the Lord displayed His goodness to me after my chemical injury in the area of friendships. In my time of weakness, the Lord brought several new friends into my life—people who accepted me just as I was. Many of them served me unconditionally, bringing me meals or gifts, or just coming over to keep me company when I was having a hard day. Prior to the injury, I used to think people would only want to be my friend if I was strong and capable. The year after my injury, however, the opposite proved to be true. What a healing thing that was for me!
Trials are a great opportunity for God to show His goodness and faithfulness to us, and to show Himself strong on our behalf. What a faith builder it is to watch God take good care of us in our times of need. Psalm 31:19 says, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.” Today, let’s recall all the good things the Lord has done in our lives.