Sometimes, life is hard, and no matter how desperately you try to change things for the better, they only seem to get worse. Where is God in the midst of those times? Beloved, He's right there. He hasn't left you or forsaken you. He can't. It's not in His nature. No matter how alone you feel on the inside, you're not, and He's begging you to test Him and see that He is enough.

I guess I'm thinking along these lines today, because I've had a song stuck in my head for the last couple of weeks. Every time I turn around, "Blessings" by Laura Story is playing in my mind as if it were prerecorded. I want to share the lyrics with you (even better...go on YouTube and search it out so you can hear the song, itself), but I want you to see where they came from (that's also an incredible story you can find on YouTube).

A few months into their marriage, Laura Story noticed her new husband was forgetting things...unusually, forgetting things. His memory over time only got worse, not better. Long story short, he had a brain tumor. This man she'd hoped to spend the rest of her life with...this man she'd just began to really know...was desperately ill. The operation for the removal of the tumor was successful (YEAH), but to this day, he still deals with forgetfulness. Laura Story speaks of her struggle in knowing that God is good on one hand and completely capable and able to heal on the other. She said that in her mind, the two things should go together, and her husband should be healed. BUT he's not, completely. She wrote this song in response.

"Blessings" by Laura Story
We pray for blessings. We pray for peace.
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
All the while, You hear each spoken need,
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love,
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
All the while, You hear each desperate plea,
And long that we'd have faith to believe.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us,
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home.
It's not our home.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life,
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy.
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?

Amazing, isn't it...that such an incredibly deep, theologically sound song was not birthed by blue skies or sunny days. This song - that has touched millions and comforted millions (including myself) - was birthed from pain, from sorrow, from seeking the Lord in the darkest of nights. Yes, God is able. Yes, God is good, but we have to trust that what He KNOWS is better than what we KNOW. He sees our suffering, but He also sees what our suffering will bring about and is too good and too kind to give us "lesser things." He sees it for what it will ultimately be...a blessing.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Cor. 1:3-4

Blessings be to you, and may you be truly thankful in all things...even the tough stuff...during this Thanksgiving season.

Thank You Jesus, for the things in my life right now that aren't any fun at all...REALLY. Thank You that You are using those things to shape something in me that will be useful to comfort others in my path for days, even months or years to come. You truly are the God of all comfort, and I praise You today. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.