God is Good

God is good. This has been the quiet echo of my heart lately.

Over and over again, this beating truth --- That He is good. He is always good.

This is truth that never changes and a foundation that cannot be shaken. ALL the time, every moment, for all time, God is good. I know it with all of my heart.

Though my circumstances in this moment may not be what I would have chosen, there is larger purpose in it all that I cannot see. God has a plan and because of His great love for me, He will use the good things, the hard things, the sad things, and absolutely everything in my life for good which in turn, will be for His glory.

I love what James MacDonald once said; 

“God’s love is not a pampering love, but a perfecting love.”

He doesn't shower His children with blessing upon blessing and make life easy and effortless for us. There’s no plastic bubble of protection causing bad things to bounce off of our lives and out into the atmosphere. What kind of character would that build in His children? He loves us too much to leave us as we are, but instead will allow us to struggle in this life so that we will become stronger, more compassionate, and ultimately more aware of our great need for Him.

Each day He works in our lives like a Master Sculptor, chipping away at the hard edges of our character, gently smoothing rough places of contention, and lovingly shaping us into the perfect masterpiece He can already see.

He changes us for our good, yet in this world full of pain and suffering, evil and disaster, hunger and heartache, it can be very difficult for some to believe it.

But remember this, there was a tree in the garden…   the only forbidden tree…   the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Before the first bite of that fruit was taken, man had no knowledge of evil.

It is because of sin that we experience evil, it’s not because God isn't good. He has always been good. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

One day all things will be made new. Until then, we will groan in this fallen world, but we can always rely on one never-ending truth, 

God is good. Period.

JOY!

    Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

- 1 Chronicles 16:27

Breathing His Name

His voice. . .

 A gentle whisper with the power to create. . .

this world and everything in it.

The sun, moon and stars, and every galaxy came to be by the whispering of God.

With His breath, He breathed life into our lungs, and the very sound of our breathing is continually speaking His Name.

The Name of God - YHWH. (Yahweh)

We inhale Yah-h-h and exhale Weh-h-h, and with every single breath, we are calling out to Him, the Creator and Sustainer of Life.

Can you hear it?    

. . .every breath on earth joining in with the rhythm of each beating heart, singing a constant chorus of His Name.

Every person alive is forever speaking the Name of the One who formed them, knew them, and loved them, before they ever came to be.

His voice a gentle whisper. . .

Our breath is whispering His Name.

And with the very breath that keeps us living,

           we fill the whole earth with His glory.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen.  – Psalm 72:19

This is what God the Lord says—

He who created the heavens and stretched them out, 

who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,

who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.”

– Isaiah 42:5-6

Morning Song

Song lifted high at the break of new dawn

Fire-brazen sky, night's echoes now gone

Morning breeze dancing with shimmering light

Unspoken praises find wings to take flight

Soaring to heaven in urgent release

Exploding through clouds, fiery brilliance increased

In humble adoring arriving to bring

Every glorious morning, praise to the King!

Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops; 

Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his warriors, 

Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars; 

Praise him, high heaven, praise him, heavenly rain clouds; 

Praise, oh let them praise the name of God— he spoke the word, and there they were!

Pslam 148:1-5 MSG

Do Not Worry - TRUST

I’ve never been much of a worrier, but I know a lot of friends who are and I wish I could get them to see a bigger picture. I just don’t spend a lot of time dwelling in the past or fretting about the future. I think that’s why these words of Jesus recorded in the book of Matthew have always made a lot of sense to me,

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

In other words, take “one day at a time.” (Not just a 70’s show, but good advice. Ha!)

Now consider a statement I once heard that went something like this: 

If we ever had the chance to see, all at once,

all that we would face over our lifetimes,

the shock would be enough to stop our heart.

Wow! I mused at the time, we might just drop dead if we saw our whole life flashed before us?! Now, there’s no way to know for sure if that’s true, but I dwelt on that thought for a while.

If I could see my whole life before me,

all that I would have to endure,

how would I react?

It took some time of contemplation, but eventually, this heartfelt prayer is what came from those thoughts…

If You allowed me to see

What my future will be,

LORD, how would I respond?

If I saw pain in my life,

And great trials and strife,

Would my faith be a rock to stand on?

Knowing You would be there

In my sorrow to share,

Would that take away my fear?

Would I trust Your protection?

And Your plan of perfection?

That You’d capture every tear?

LORD, You are my reason

For life through all seasons,

So I believe I can honestly say…

I will go where You lead me,

Through the fire or the valley,

I will trust in You all the way.

There’s no need to think twice,

For You paid the hard price

To give me life that’s new.

Counting all else as loss,

I will take up my cross,

And follow hard after You!

***

Oh how He loves us and wants what’s best for us! Just look at the price He paid for us.

Why do we ever worry and doubt?

God is bigger than all of our problems.

Ask yourself this, do you really think there’s anything He can’t handle?  That there might be an issue too complicated for the God who spoke this universe into existence?

If you worry your problems are too big, then honestly your idea of God is much too small, and you need to quickly adjust your thinking.

Just think about how big, how enormous, how incomprehensibly H U G E God is, and suddenly, your problems are looking pretty darned small.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  (Matthew 6:25-27)

Well? Are you not much more valuable than all of the little birds you see outside your window?

Let that question swirl around your heart for a while. And then this one:

“Can any one of you by worrying, add a single hour to your life?”

Decide for yourself what the answer will be,

And TRUST!

Trust in the One who is big enough. 

He is so much more than enough!