“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭32:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

We sang it last night; “You are perfect in all of Your ways.” We sang it over and over and I believed it with every fiber of my being. Several hundred woman have gathered in Des Moines this weekend for our annual conference and for me it serves as kind of a bookend, neatly capping off the most awful year of my life. The 2017 women’s conference was the last place I stood before the bottom fell out completely.

I stood at the altar last night and gave wide and deep praise for God’s faithfulness, His mercy and His perfect strength made completely available to me through this past year. The last five days have been nothing short of miraculous, made to shine all the brighter by the long and terrible dark I’ve forged through.

“He is the rock.” Not a rock, an ordinary stone or common pebble, but THE ROCK; the singular safe bedrock to build our lives on. He is a sure foundation that will stand through any and every storm. Trust me, I have tested this and it’s true. He is unshakeable and when we cling to Him, so we become.

“His works are perfect.” Perfection is complicated. It isn’t straight forward or easy. In fact, it’s hard for the imperfect to accurately perceive the faultless, especially amidst the fallout. But He is excellent and His ways are trustworthy, and eventually He always works it out for the good of His Kingdom.

“All His ways are just.” Not some of His ways, but the whole of His ways are without prejudice. We can lean in to His perfection and expect it to hold forever.

“As for God, his way is perfect.” (Psalm‬ ‭18:30‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

When my kids were still babies we set out to memorize the ABC’s of scripture. Naturally, the ‘A’ verse is long established in my mind. After the year I’ve had, I’m wholly convinced, His way is perfect. I have seen Him redeem so much that it exponentially increases my faith for the rest of it. I have watched Him take the most terrible mess and carefully, systematically cultivate it into something lovely, something live-giving.

How long does it take for a scripture to sink from mind to soul? We memorized it over a decade ago and I’m just now to a place where I truly, fully believe it. I suppose it depends on the scripture and it depends on the soul.

Dear Lord, Today I trust Your ways completely. I hope I can remember it tomorrow. I pray I won’t return to my precious ways of worry and fret. I want desperately to stay certain of Your faithful perfection. I want to keep proclaiming the truth of who You are forever. Amen.