Seeing Goodness While Still Breathing
A Hope That Refuses to Wait Until Later
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
When the Heart Is Close to Losing Hope
David does not write this from a place of ease.
He writes it from the edge.
“I would have lost heart…”
Not might have.
Not almost.
This is a confession, not a slogan.
Faith, here, is not about feeling strong.
It is about refusing to let despair name the ending.
Sometimes believing simply means choosing not to quit breathing.
Goodness Is More Than Moral Correctness
The word translated goodness is the Hebrew word ṭôb.
It does not mean abstract virtue or spiritual approval.
It means life-giving, beautiful, fitting, nourishing.
The same word God used when He looked at creation and said, “This is good.”
David is not saying, “I believe God will behave well.”
He is saying, “I believe God will be good to me.”
Present.
Restorative.
Kind.
Not Later. Not Somewhere Else. Here.
“…in the land of the living.”
This is the quiet boldness of the verse.
Not heaven someday.
Not after everything resolves.
Not once the pain makes sense.
But here.
While unfinished.
While healing is still in process.
This is not denial of suffering.
It is the expectation of presence.
God’s goodness is not postponed.
It is meant to be encountered.
Faith Is Staying Open Long Enough to See
David does not tell us when he will see it.
Only that he believes he will.
Sometimes faith looks like staying open.
Staying tender.
Staying alive to possibility.
Goodness often arrives quietly—
through a moment of kindness,
a breath of relief,
a reminder that love still exists.
And sometimes, that is God meeting us right where we are.
Reflection
Where have you quietly postponed hope, assuming God’s goodness will come later rather than meet you now?
What might it look like to stay open—just a little longer—to the possibility of goodness in your current season?
Where have you already noticed small glimpses of God’s life-giving presence, even if the larger story still feels unfinished?
Prayer