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“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”
—Psalm 27:13 (ESV)
You’re holding a thousand responsibilities, trying to keep your family close and your heart tender before the Lord, but the days feel heavy. The noise is constant. The needs are many. And at the end of the day, when you finally crawl into bed, it’s easy to wonder—Am I doing anything right?
There are seasons in life when the hard feels heavier than the good. We all walk through times like that. Maybe you’re in one of those seasons now.
I’ve felt it too. The mental load. The discouragement. The loneliness that sometimes comes from pouring out more than you feel you have to give. It’s in those very places that God has taught me to look again—not at the mess or the fatigue or the unmet expectations, but at the quiet mercies unfolding in the middle of it all.
Because even when the bad is loud, the good is still there. And sometimes, we have to let it weigh more.
When the Hard Things Stack Up
I’ve had those days when everything seems to go wrong. You wake up tired. The house is a wreck. Your kids are cranky. Dinner burns. A comment from someone you love stings a little more than you expected.
And before you know it, you’re declaring the whole day “ruined.” I’ve done it—I’ve let one or two hard moments paint the whole picture.
But I’m learning: just because the hard things happened doesn’t mean good things didn’t.
That one child who whispered “I love you, Mom” before breakfast.
The way the sun poured across your living room floor like a gentle reminder.
That verse you read in the morning that somehow stayed with you through the noise.
The goodness of God is often quiet. It doesn’t demand attention. But it’s there—woven through our days like golden threads we’ll miss if we don’t slow down and look for them.
What Are You Carrying?
Most of us don’t even realize how heavy our internal load is. We carry the emotional weight of our families, our homes, our ministries, and our unmet hopes. We replay conversations, worry about the future, feel behind, and wonder if we’re enough.
And in the midst of that emotional fatigue, we tend to filter our days through what went wrong. We mentally stack up our frustrations, our disappointments, the things we didn’t get to, and the things that didn’t go as planned.
But what if we learned to count the good, too?
What if instead of letting the bad define the day, we let the good outweigh it?
This isn’t about pretending everything is okay when it’s not. It’s not about denying our pain or minimizing our struggles. It’s about choosing, moment by moment, to notice the fingerprints of God in the middle of our mess.
What You Focus On Will Shape You
Our thoughts are powerful. What we choose to focus on shapes how we feel and how we walk through our days. That’s why Scripture calls us to renew our minds, to think on what is true, noble, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8).
When we rehearse only what’s wrong, we stay discouraged. But when we make room to remember God’s goodness—His presence, His provision, His promises—we find strength.
David said in Psalm 27:13, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
That was a declaration. A choice to believe that even here—even now—God is good, and His goodness is visible if we’ll train our eyes to see it.
We don’t have to wait for a different season to be encouraged. We can ask God to show us His goodness right here in the one we’re living.
A Simple Shift That Changes Everything
Here’s what’s been helping me lately. At the end of the day, instead of mentally rehearsing what went wrong, I ask myself:
What went right today?
It’s such a small shift, but it changes everything.
Sometimes the answer is simple:
- We laughed around the dinner table.
- I read a Scripture that really encouraged me.
- My child apologized on his own.
- The house was peaceful, even if just for a moment.
Those good things matter. They are the fruit of faithful seeds being planted day by day—most of which feel unseen. But they’re there. And they’re worth noticing.
God isn’t just working in the big breakthroughs. He’s moving in the little moments that feel ordinary. And when we start to count those moments, our hearts begin to soften. Gratitude grows. Peace returns.
The Battle for Our Thoughts
Sometimes we get stuck rehearsing our failures. We relive what we should have done, what we shouldn’t have said, what someone else did wrong. It’s exhausting. And the enemy loves to keep us in that loop—focused on our weakness instead of God’s faithfulness.
But we don’t have to stay there.
We can take those thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). We can bring them before the Lord and ask Him to help us see clearly. To show us what’s true. And what’s true is this:
You are doing more good than you realize.
God is closer than He seems.
And His grace is covering more than you know.
Let Grace Speak Louder
Grace speaks a different language than the inner critic we’ve come to believe is just our personality. Grace whispers:
You’re not failing.
You’re learning.
You’re growing.
You’re being faithful.
Grace looks at the laundry and the dishes and the toddler tantrums and the late-night prayers and says—This matters. This is good work.
And the good that you are sowing right now is not wasted. Even if no one else sees it. Even if it feels small.
One Good Thing
Maybe today you just need to name one good thing.
One way God reminded you He’s still with you.
One prayer that’s been answered in part.
One moment of laughter.
One gentle word.
Let that one good thing outweigh the rest. Let it remind you that this story isn’t finished, and you are not alone in it.
God is writing a bigger story than you can see. And even on the hard days, you are still held in the hands of the One who is always good.
If This Encouraged You…
Would you share it with a friend?
Sometimes we all need a reminder that we’re not the only ones feeling weary. That we’re not the only ones wondering if we’re doing anything right.
And if this message reminded you to look for God’s goodness today—I hope it will do the same for someone you love.
With grace and truth,
Audrey
© Audrey McCracken Creatives LLC, 2025
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