Picture it! Late evening on a fall Virginian day in 2003 on a mountain college campus there in a dorm room a girl with her two friends knelt down in front of a bed covered with a dark green comforter. Right there in the tiny dorm in the space between the two roommates’ beds, her friend leads her in a prayer she had never heard before nor fully understood. However, as his words poured forth her heart began to unravel and reveal what had been hidden and buried in the depths of her soul. A pause makes way for her to open her mouth to speak. Then it happened. She prays. Not like in times past when prayer was just a method of wishing for her plans to come to pass or a negotiation tactic with a God she did not fully believe was even in existence. No, this time it was different. This time she simply spoke and revealed what had been keeping her from believing there was a living God. “Lord if you are real, never leave me or forsake me. I am giving you all of me. So do not disappoint me,” she prays as tears stream down her face and her heart beats rapidly in her chest. At that moment, she did not know it, but she was asking God for His faithfulness.

Good is the word God, the Creator, in Genesis 1 used to describe all that He had created (Genesis 1:31). The dry land earth, the gathering of waters, the expanse of heaven, the winged bird, the sea creatures, cattle, every creeping thing, and man, made in His image and likeness, He describes as good. Good meaning pleasant and agreeable to the sense. Pleasant and agreeable to whose sense?

When experienced firsthand it can leave one feeling loved. When lacking it can leave one feeling overlooked. It is often encouraged by teachers in the classroom starting as early as kindergarten. Also encouraged by parents within and outside of the home. It is a good quality to look for amongst friends. Also, a quality looked for in fine speech. Taught by Jesus as a way to treat not only our friends but our enemies.

Instant gratification and comfort are two prominent nouns sought after across the globe. Technological advances, the speed of change, and the increase in transit societies create environments void of delayed gratification. Discomforts are also minimized. No one seeks after being uncomfortable or to experience pain, quite the contrary we go to great lengths to feel comfort. We spend all our resources to acquire, consume, and improve each comfort and satisfy every want disguised as a need. Yet we worship a God who characterizes Himself as the opposite and chose the opposite for Himself.

How often do you find yourself desiring tranquility, well-being, and soundness of mind and heart? Yet, are confronted and assaulted by the chaos and noise of life, and before you realize it you are operating out of known experience, fear, or even anxiety. Renown author and theologian C.S Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” (p.50, Mere Christianity)