Today’s devotional is brought to us by my new friend, Molly Spence.

As I’m meditating on the goodness of God today, my thoughts immediately recall the precious words of Romans 8:28. It states, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The heart behind its message remains simple and significant: the goodness of God is still as faithful today as it was yesterday. There will never be an instance of tribulation that He cannot handle. We can trust God in the midst of all things because His goodness is ever present in all things.

Notice I never mentioned the word triumph along with tribulation. I have watched and experienced how easy it is to find things worth praising Him for in our lives when our days are going well.

But what about those not so good days when everything goes all wrong and you’re left feeling like nothing will ever be all right again? What about those times that leave you scrambling for answers and still you have none?

Life has a way of sometimes giving us more than we were ever meant to handle, yet Christ is always there to love us through it all. He is faithful to work behind the scenes in everything both for our good and for His glory.

He is faithful to work behind the scenes in everything both for our good and for His glory.

Last September brought forth one of the most difficult seasons that my mother and I have ever faced. Autoimmune disease doesn’t care who you are or what you’re doing–flare-ups do happen if you aren’t super careful (and even when you are). They have the power to bring weeks, or even months, of devastation with them.

This particular episode was unlike anything we had ever experienced before: my mother was suddenly faced with the loss of her independence due to issues with the lymphatic system and I was thrown into the role of caregiver for a full six weeks.

It was definitely not the easiest time; both of us were pulled into unfamiliar territory. The feeling of uncertainty was an unwelcome companion in our hearts as no one really knew which direction things would go next.

It was scary.

Yet despite everything happening at the time, there was never a moment where we didn’t know the goodness of God. He truly surrounded us.

I don’t know all about the troubles that you’re facing, but know this: God is holding your hand every step of the way. Here are three wonderful ways that we saw God’s goodness to us through our trial:

1. His strength is perfect in our weakness. It is hard to accept our invincibility. We like to think we have the ability to take on all the things. To have enough confidence to accomplish the unthinkable would never be possible without the unmatchable strength that only Jesus can provide.

No matter where you are on the spectrum of experiencing personal incapabilities, His strength will always be made perfect in your weakness. Maybe you’re going through your own season of health difficulty (perhaps you’ve attempted living as everything to everyone): limitations are never an easy thing to accept, but working through them is possible.

You’re not giving into defeat by asking for help. Whatever you’re going through, it will all be okay. He provided us with the strength to pull through the hard moments and His grace will always be sufficient.

As 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2. Storms shelter us in His love. The love of Christ provides an ever present source of refuge in times of trouble—through every day that we experienced, His love never felt far away. The power of His devotion was exemplified through the countless prayers and continual support from loved ones and friends. Every physical and emotional necessity that we encountered was fulfilled beyond our expectations.

Christ will forever be Someone Who’s both willing and able to meet your every need as well. He will never fail to shelter you in His love for it is infinite and unconditional. As Psalms 46:1 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

3. He promises us that we can trust Him in all things. God’s most wonderful promise to us through our greatest times of tribulation is a powerful reminder that we can trust Him in the midst of all things. His goodness remains ever-present in all things.

It can be difficult to understand why certain events transpire in our lives: for every situation there’s significant purpose; in the midst of every detail, God’s perfect plan remains in motion. In the midst of everything that was happening, my heart for the Lord grew in so many ways.

He taught me to trust Him with my emotions, no matter where I’m at or what I’m doing. Before all of this it was always so common for me to try and hold everything in—but I had no choice but to lean on Him more that I ever had in my whole life of knowing Him.

We all need the Lord every single day that we live. As He promises to work out everything in our lives for His perfect glory, my mother is doing well these days! We are still praising the Lord for the blessing of her continual recovery!

You may be traveling through a rough patch right now: those moments do pass and things will improve… you just need a heart of patience. Even through those nights when you are without the ability to come to Him in prayer—keep on going strong for the cause of Christ. Never give up on Him, because He will never give up on you.

His love for you transcends all that life can throw your way; there’s nothing in the world that would pluck you from the safety of His hand. He wants your mess—the stuff that makes you YOU—He doesn’t care if you’re all put together or not. He cares about who YOU are. He wants to use your tears, your passions, your heart, and uses every detail in the crevices of your story to mold you into everything that He wants you to become.

You never have to feel as though He has abandoned you in some unforeseen and unfamiliar place. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you and He is the greatest Friend built for every ounce of our adversity.

No matter what you find yourself facing today, the goodness of God will never be far from you. Not only will the goodness of God ease the burdens of needful hearts, but it also shows us the beauty of who He is through it all.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28