Find Me in the Pockets

Finding God's goodness in the ordinary, even in the midst of grief.

I lost my father-in-law last month. It marked the third loss of a parent figure in a single calendar year and the third grandparent’s passing in just nine months for my children. To say 2026 has been a year met with heartache and grief would be a massive understatement.

In the final days of my father-in-law’s life, I found myself crying out to God, met with what seemed like little divine response in return. I was desperate for some utterance of hope from Him. The voids in our family were already intense, but facing another loved one’s departure made the grave heaviness seem entirely unbearable. I was in desperate need of a supernatural touch from Heaven.

Much like the prophet Elijah hearing God’s voice in a gentle whisper rather than a dramatic display of power, God’s simple echo to my heart came down to one phrase:

“Find me in the pockets.”

The notion was odd, but piercing. It led me on a spiritual scavenger hunt to figure out exactly what God’s intentions were in this strange directive.

I started by researching where the idea of "pockets" might be found in Scripture. As you might suspect, there are not many verses that point to them.

There is no commandment stating, “Thou must have pockets in thy pants.” There is no proverb that declares, “Wisdom is found in thy pocket.”

In fact, people in biblical times didn’t even have pockets in their clothes; they are a relatively modern trend dating back to the 17th century.

However, in thinking about how pockets serve us, I was reminded of David and his infamous altercation with Goliath.

Although David wasn’t wearing cargo pants full of shepherding tools, the Bible states that he was carrying a shepherd's bag or pouch. Perhaps that satchel was the predecessor of the modern pocket. Regardless, the Lord showed me through David's story that He was leading me to search for the power of God in the ordinary.

Finding God in the Ordinary

David had his stones in his "pocket." Those stones were just everyday items he picked up out of a stream during his daily walk through the valley. He had no idea they would be the very objects God would use to defeat the Philistine army.

They were just regular stones. But in those "pocket moments," we see God take the ordinary and make it divine.

For me, finding God in the pockets has taken various forms over the 30 days since we lost my father-in-law.

I’ve seen Him in the sunshine peeking through the clouds after a heavy rain.

I’ve seen Him in the prayer of my daughter after she found out her beloved grandfather had transitioned to eternity.

For months, she had prayed daily for a miracle of physical healing for her Grandpa. When our expectations were not met on this side of heaven, I was terrified that her faith would be devastated. But in the pocket of her prayer, I saw her faith increase and her beliefs solidify.

I’ve also observed pockets of God's presence in the immense outpouring of support our family has received from our church communities. There have been gift cards, meals, calls, and sympathy cards. There have been flowers and donations. My father-in-law’s celebration of life was attended by close to 250 people—some of whom didn’t even know him personally, but loved us enough to show up and weep with us.

It was Romans 12:15 in action:

“Mourn with those who mourn.”

It was the pocket of His promise operating in real time.

A Journey Through Psalm 27

The same hero with those stones in his pocket is also the emotional scribe who penned many of the Psalms. My pocket journey eventually took me to Psalm 27.

Although the exact historical context of this poem is uncertain, most scholars believe David wrote it either while fleeing for his life from King Saul, or later in life during the rebellion of his own son, Absalom. Whichever the scenario, we know David was in a desperate, dark place, crying out to God and starving for a response.

David’s heart craved evidence of God’s sovereignty and goodness in the midst of a great trial.

He writes:

"I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord." (Psalm 27:13-14)

The truths of these verses began directing my heart and mind on exactly how to find these pockets from the Lord.

Like David, I was in a season of heaviness, but like him, I could choose to search for the Lord in the spaces right in front of me.

So, what can we learn from David's words?

1. Despair is lurking, but there is a remedy

It’s no secret that we live in a fallen world and that things are not as God originally designed them to be.

I recently read a poignant definition of grief as the feeling that things are not as they should be.

This applies to death, but it can also be experienced through any sort of loss or event that forces us to reconcile reality with the way things were supposed to be before the fall.

The enemy uses despair and hopelessness as tools to keep us stuck, unable to move forward into healing.

But there is a way out through belief.

2. The remedy is belief in supernatural goodness on the way

David articulates that despair would have consumed him had he not had the faith to believe in a God who was still good, even when his circumstances were anything but.

Furthermore, his belief in God’s goodness was an act of faith, not based on tangible, immediate evidence.

When he wrote, he was still stuck in a cave, running from individuals who should have been his friends and family. There wasn’t a whole lot of physical proof that good was coming his way, yet he still believed.

That belief was something his despair simply could not stand up against; it carried him through his darkest moments.

The enemy could not win because David believed that, in time, God’s goodness would prevail.

3. Waiting and expecting is the hardest part—keep the confidence

When you read these verses, you notice that David tells us repeatedly to wait and expect.

I believe that’s because David knew firsthand that the waiting is the hardest part.

It is easy to believe God’s goodness is on the way in the first hour of a trial. But when you are days or months in, and the hits keep coming, holding onto expectation becomes a battle.

Because of this, David reminds us that we cannot afford a watered-down patience or a weak level of expectation.

No, we are called to confidently wait and expect.

Where does that confidence come from?

It isn't a human confidence that relies on a human response. Rather, it is a God-confidence secure in the unchanging character of the Lord we serve.

We wait with that confidence.

It requires strength, but not of the physical type. We must strengthen ourselves in the truths of God’s promises while we wait, aligning our expectations with what He has spoken.

Our strength, our courage, and our confidence will carry us through.

4. The goodness is already here in the pockets

No matter what the "land of the living" looks like for us right now, we can rest in the fact that we will see the goodness of the Lord.

For David, the land of the living looked like betrayal and injustice, yet he searched for God in the pockets.

For me, the land of the living has looked like saying goodbye to beloved parents in an incredibly short window of time, yet I choose to see God in the pockets.

For you, it may be something else entirely.

Your land of the living may feel full of heartbreak and defeat today, but I can assure you that there are pockets of His goodness tucked all around you.

A Prayer for the Pockets

My prayer for all of us as we move forward is that we would open our hearts to these pockets. Like David on that fateful day of battle, may we dig deep into our everyday lives to find the tools and blessings God has placed there.

For him, it was a smooth stone.

For me, it has been the sunshine and the heartfelt prayers of my daughter.

May you find your own evidence of His goodness in the land of the living as you reach into your pockets today.