Celebrating God’s Goodness

As we approach Thanksgiving this year, I have become more conscious of how much I have been given. I have a greater awareness than ever before of the amazing goodness of the Lord!

So often in the past I focused on the areas in my life where I had been wounded. But the Lord has shown me in countless ways that it is in those painful places that He can shine the brightest. And those dark times can then be used for great good…not only in my own life, but in the lives of countless others.

 As the Lord has brought healing and wholeness to many areas that were once so painful, I can now agree with Joseph, who said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” Gen 50:20a ESV.  This in many ways can still be a mystery to me…the things that God allows into our lives. Yet as I see my own healing from abuse and abandonment now being a source of encouragement to others, I begin to understand, and in some ways to even rejoice in my own sufferings.

In the end, I realize the the greatest lesson to be learned in life is to trust in the goodness of God. He is good…always! Even when we don’t understand why something is happening, we can remember the times that He has shown Himself to be faithful and true in the past. Then we can face the future with a confidence and peace that is not of this world. We can trust that God is good, and that He will work all things together for good!

A couple of years ago this truth was underlined for me in a big way. While I was sitting before the Lord, I suddenly felt overwhelmed by His presence. I was filled with an intense awareness of Him, and particularly of His goodness.  Suddenly the song “You are Good”, by Kari Jobe, came to mind. It is a deeply worshipful song that I had heard before, but at the time I could not recall the words. So I reached for my smart phone to look up the lyrics. The only problem was that I hit my Pandora radio app, instead of simply going on the web for the information. You can imagine my shock when before I even attempted to type in my request, suddenly that very song began to play!               

“You Are Good”, by Kari Jobe               

Your kindness leads me to repentance
Your goodness draws me to your side
Your mercy calls me to be like you
and Your favor is my delight
everyday I awaken my praise and pour out a song from my heart

You are good, you are good
you are good and your mercy is forever
You are good, you are good

You are good and Your mercy is forever

 http://youtu.be/QYZPm1UGws4

Wow! I have to tell you that I was overwhelmed by this miracle of the Lord. What an amazing demonstration of God’s desire to draw near to me and to reveal His love for me! And this highlighted, in case there was any doubt, what I felt He was impressing upon my heart…that He is good.

If I am honest, I have to admit that at times I have doubted this fact. It is easy to believe in the goodness of God when things are going well. It seems natural to respond with a heart of thanksgiving and praise when we see an answer to prayer, for instance. But what about all those painful places? What about when we feel all alone, or like we are about to fall over a cliff with no one to help? What about when something difficult, or even tragic, happens to a dear friend or a family member? I would say that these are the times when we are tempted to doubt.

The most powerful thing we can do in the face of difficulty is to trust in God’s goodness. When we trust our heavenly Father, we can run to Him for comfort and for courage. We can turn to Him for the refuge that He is! When we look to the Lord, understanding that He only gives good gifts to His children, then we will be positioned to receive all that He has for us. (Matt. 7:11)

And what an abundance He provides! Our heavenly Father amply supplies our every need. He supplies us with courage in the face of fear, and strength when we are weak. Most of all, He gives us His very presence. Wow!

 All we need to do is ask. When we see God as He truly is, then we will run to Him, fully expecting Him to answer our requests. God Himself will even give us the faith we need, in the presence of doubt. We simply need to come humbly to Him, crying out, “… I believe, help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 ESV

So what does all this have to do with thanksgiving? Everything! When we understand the goodness of the Lord, then we will be able to recognize His abundant gifts that are all around us. We miss so very much when we focus solely on what we don’t have, instead of all on all He so richly supplies.

I don’t want to be like Eve. Despite all that surrounded her…the beautiful garden, her husband, her every need being met by her heavenly Father, a Father who actually walked in the garden with her daily…she became greedy for more.  She believed Satan’s lie that implied that God was holding out on her…that He wasn’t good!

And Satan is still tempting us in the same way. But we need to resist him. We need to trust God with all our hearts. When we trust the Lord, believing that He is always good, our eyes will be opened to the gifts all around us. And we will have a heart that is overflowing with thanksgiving!

Psalm 106:1 ESV says, “…Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” Let’s lift our voices in chorus together, as we thank our God for all that He is, and for 

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