Saturday September 10, 2022

 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good…”

That’s how Psalm 107 begins - and that’s as far as I’ve gotten: “He is good”.

 

“God is good.” We have heard it and read it. And at times, many times, we feel it to be so.

When life is benevolent and bountiful, when our dreams, our plans, our hopes and expectations are fulfilled – then it’s easy to recognize and to declare that God is good and kind.

 

But, is God still good when life’s outcomes are not? Is God still kind when life’s tragedies, sorrows and worries befall us? When there is scarcity and need, instead of abundance? When life’s doors are closed instead of opened?

 

Max Lucado, in his book You’ll Get Through This: Hope And Help For Your Turbulent Times, says about life’s difficulties:

“You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't be foolish or naïve. But don't despair either. With God's help you will get through this.”

 

And again: “You’ll get through this. You fear you won’t. We all do. We fear that the depression will never lift … the pain will never leave. Here in the pits, surrounded by steep walls …, we wonder, Will this gray sky ever brighten? This load ever lighten? We feel stuck, trapped, locked in. Predestined for failure. Will we ever exit this pit? Yes!”

 

Because “your pain won’t last forever, but you will. ‘Whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has in store for us.’ ~Romans 8:18 … What is coming will make sense of what is happening now. Let God finish his work. Let the composer complete his symphony. The forecast is simple. Good days. Bad days. But God is in all days. He is the Lord of the famine and the feast, and he uses both to accomplish his will.”

 

Because the words in Genesis 50:20 are true and trustworthy: what Satan intends for evil in your life, God redeems and transforms for good. Knowing this and believing it, that is having “50/20 Vision”.

 

Because the words in Romans 8:28 are also true and trustworthy: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 

Dear friend: that is why, be your life as it may be today – whether you are living in need or in abundance, whether life’s doors are closed or opened for you – what Psalm 107 says is true. God is good – the Lord is kind. Because a God who can take ALL the bad things and ALL the mess in our lives, and redeem it and transform it into something good – that God IS good, that God IS kind.

 

Believe it. He won’t disappoint you. 

 

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