Thanks Living: God is good. Period

Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 106:1

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the Lord... why? 
Because He is good. 
That's it. 
Simply, because God is good. 
Not because of the benefits that He gives because He is good. 
Simply because of the fact that God is good. 

If God is so good why does He allow bad things to happen? That's an age old question. The only answer I have is that no matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, God remains good. He cannot change. He is good. Period. 

As I have been thinking about Psalm 106:1 and 107:1, and that God is good, I continued to think of God's goodness in relation what I get because of God's goodness. That is NOT what these verses are saying to do. We are to give thanks, simply because God is good—period. Just thanking God that He is good. It's who God is. A characteristic that cannot change. 

The fact that God can be nothing less than who He is reminded me of a post I had written several years ago: (http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2011/01/god-is-faithful.html)

God is Faithful

by Rhonda Sawtelle

God, my Confidant, my Savior,
Faithful is His code of behavior.
Steadfast, unchangeable, unshakable.
Being something different—He’s just unable.
I Am can be nothing other than who He is.

True blue, never slow, never wavering.
Rock-solid; forever unchanging.
In the past, He has proven Himself true.
In the present and future, He’ll simply continue.
I Am can be nothing other than who He is.

Promises kept, loyal, reliable, sure.
Awesome faithfulness—without measure.
No role in God’s faithfulness, has human frailty.
Unfaithfulness to God’s Being is contrary.
I Am can be nothing other than who He is.

Unfathomable, incomprehensible,
It is simply and utterly impossible—
Unfaithfulness is not even a choice.
In God’s faithfulness—with assurance—rejoice.
I Am can be nothing other than Who He Is.

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“When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.”  Hebrews 6:17-19 (The Message)

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Give thanks..... for God is good. Period. Thanks Living is based on the fact that God is good. Not on things I receive because God is good. Give thanks—for God is good. Period. 

Recognize True Goodness

Throughout this year, each day of the month, I'm "Treasure Hunting" in a Psalm. I've created a "Ponder Every Morsel of Truth" Book to record the truths as I learn them. The ninth of each month, I'm studying Psalm 100. Here's what Treasure I found today.

The Lord is good. His love is forever, and his loyalty goes on and on. Psalm 100:5 (NCV)

Good: beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, fine, glad, graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, the best, precious.

"For the Lord is good." This sums up his character and contains a mass of reasons for praise. He is good, gracious, kind, bountiful, loving; yea, God is love. He who does not praise the good is not good himself. The kind of praise inculcated in the Psalm, viz. that of joy and gladness, is most fitly urged upon us by an argument from the goodness of God. The Treasury of David

Goodness is a very comprehensive quality. It is love, kindness, benevolence, that which leads you to wish well and to do good to those around you; and the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, because it is so full of his works and ways, which are the fruits and manifestations of his goodness. Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

God is good. God Himself is good. He is not only full of goodness, He is good. Because He is good, He does good things. However, His goodness is not based on what He does, rather what He does is because He is good. 

We often measure of the ‘goodness’ of people by how generous they are, how much they give or do for others. Yet, just because someone DOES something good, does not make them “good”.  Their motives could be very wrong.—like trying to buy favor or a position, etc. 

Yet, because God is good—first and foremost—He graciously does good. His character is that of goodness and that produces kindness. In God we can recognize true goodness!

But if God is good, why do bad things happen? The ultimate answer to that is “sin”. God gave us free-will, to make choices. And sin has consequences. When God allows bad things to happen, it could be for several reasons: 1. to judge, or bring punishment for disobedience  2. to bring glory to Himself 3. to get our attention, so that we acknowledge Who God is.  Also remember, that God may have reasons which we cannot understand.

Think of a parent/child relationship.  Many times the parent does something which the child sees as “not good” but in reality the parent knows that it is “very good”. The parent‘s action or lack of action, might be for protection, teaching, discipline, or the timing. The same is true of God, our Father. What we may think is “good” is not good at all, and what we think of as “bad” may be the best!    

God is good. That is a truth based upon God Almighty Himself. He can not change, therefore, He was, He is, and always will be good. And because He is good, He does good things for us.

What good things has God done for you lately? He’s done so much for me! 1. He provided a beautiful sunrise this morning. 2. He sent birds to sing to me this morning. 3. He made me laugh as the silly squirrels played “tag” through the snow this morning. Those are just a few things that God in His goodness, gave to me this morning. 

To create a positive day, I need to stop and recognize true goodness—God Himself; then praise God because He is good; then, I need to stop and thank God for sharing His goodness with me. 

God’s Silence Does Not Mean I’m Forsaken

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 28. Here is what I learned.

Unto You do I cry, O Lord my Rock, be not deaf and silent to me, lest, if You be silent to me, I become like those going down to the pit [the grave]. Psalm 28:1 (AMP)

Rock: A cliff, solid support and defence.

Deaf: silent, to let alone, leave off speaking.

Become like: be like, similar, be the same as.

Go to the pit: decend to depths of Hell, out of the presence of God.

Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications. Psalm 28:6 (AMP)

Blessed: abundantly praise worthy, God is the blessing.

The Lord: of deity Yahweh.

Because: that, when.

Heard: to hear, attentively, carefully, certainly, consent, consider, to hear intelligently with implication of attention.

The voice: my cry, my sounds, the human voice. 

Suplication: earnest prayer, intreaty.

Silence can be deafening. Silence can cause dispair and hopelessness. Psalm 28:1 begins with this hopelessness of living in dispair and silence.  But first and foremost, look where the David went—to God, his support, his defence, his rock. David KNEW that even though God seemed to be silent and ignoring David—just when David needed God most—God was still the solid foundation of safety and security. 

Look the contrast from Psalm 28:1 to Psalm 28:6. David now praises God for attentively hearing David’s voice of earnest prayer. 

As I think over Psalm 28:1, and 6, I can learn some very important truths.

1. God is God no matter the situation or circumstance I find myself.
2. My prayer life shoud be more than “grace” before a meal, or a list of wants. There are times when I need to pour out my heart before God and earnestly seek Him.
3. I need to take assurance, that even when I think God is silent and I seem to be left alone, God is still listening and right there. He NEVER leaves and He will not forsake me.
4. God is worthy of praise and honor, no matter how, when, or if He answers my prayer. My circumstances do not change Who God is, or His character. God is God. 

To create a positive day, I need to change my perspective from my hopelessness to the Almighty God! Even though God seems to be silent, He is still at work.  God’s silence does not mean I’m forsaken—and that is why I can create a positive day! 

A Name

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 8. Here is what I learned.

LORD our Lord, ·Your name is the most wonderful name

[How majestic is your name]

in all the earth!

Psalm 8:1 (NXB)

Name. How majestic, grand, magnificent, marvelous, “mind-blowing", monumental, noble is God’s Name. 

The Hebrew word for “Name” means “embodying the (revealed) character”. So what Name of God did the Psalmist use. He actually used two names.

LORD is Yahweh. God’s proper name; His name of deity.

Lord is Adonai. Adonai means master, ruler, owner, and is such a title as is given to an owner of land, to kings, or to rulers, and is applied to God as being the ruler or governor of the universe.

So the very Name of God, Yahweh Adonai is “mind-blowing” in and of itself. Simply because the power and authority in His Name. It reveals Who God is. 

When we hear a name of a celebrity or sport’s player, we immediately associate that name with a characteristic, or action, or something about that person. But when we hear God’s name, how do we react? Of what do we think?  

One of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Exodus 20:7 (KJV) 

What does that mean? 

No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter;

God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.

Exodus 20:7 (MSG). 

When we lose lack of respect for a person’s name, we also lose respect for the person. This is a sad fact of our society today. People think nothing of swearing and using “OMG” flippantly. 

If we could grasp even the smallest amount of understanding of Who God is, we would begin to understand the magnificence of God’s name and then the very being of God, Himself. 

To create a positive day, I need to respect the very Name of God, for it reveals His character, His ability—Who God is. And when I recognize Who God is, that changes my outlook on life. 

"Bad" things—from whose perspective?

When "bad" things happen,

we in our limited understanding

can't imagine why a God of mercy and grace

would allow such a thing. 

In my devotions, I'm studying the Book of Job. Job 4 and 5 cover Eliphaz's advice to Job. If you just read Eliphaz's words on their own, they seem to make perfect sense. In Job 4:1-4, Eliphaz describes what others thought of Job. I found this part interesting since it gives us a glimpse of Job from the human stand point—before Job lost his wealth, family, and health. (In Job 1:8 we read God's view of Job: "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”) Eliphaz described Job as a teacher and encourager. Job provided hope and guidance to others. (Personally, I think teaching and encouraging should be a natural outcome of fearing God.)

However, after Job 1:4, Eliphaz begins to offer "advice" based on his opinions rather than based on God and God's character. Eliphaz admonishes Job—Job can "dish out advise and encouragement to others, but when Job is in a situation, Job can't deal with it". Then Eliphaz continues to share how only sinners and fools would have such calamity in their lives.

In Job 5, Eliphaz shares his "observations of life". The only problem with basing our faith on observations is—personal observations are not always accurate! For we see things through our human eyes, experiences, and understanding—which are all limited—we are after all human! How can a mere human understand the workings of an unlimited and all-knowing God? This is where we need to take a step back and allow God to work, trusting Him and acknowledging that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always designed to accomplish His purpose.

I can't say that I've endured what Job had to endure. But I have had to deal with pain—both physical (chronic pain and headaches) and emotional (the death of my sister). I've had many people tell me over the past 10 years, that God won't heal me because I have sin in my life—exactly what Eliphaz was telling Job. Yes, I do sin. However, because of God's grace and mercy, He forgives my sins (1 John 1:9).

There are times, like in Job's situation, that God allows "bad things" in our lives to accomplish His purpose—bringing glory to Himself. Just as in Job's situation. God had a much bigger plan in mind—one Job didn't know about. Yet, Job continued to trust God.

Job knew that no matter what happened to him personally, God is worthy of praise and honor. We don't choose to praise and worship God based on our circumstances, rather it's based on Who God is. And God does not change. 

If I want to create a positive day, I have to look beyond my limited human understanding and trust God to accomplish His purpose. Knowing that God is at work, is the most comforting and positive concept which I can comprehend.