Goodness of God

“The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalm 145:9

This week, I have had the opportunity to meet with many friends and family members face-to-face; most of whom I have not seen in over two years. It was such a delight to catch up on the details of time that we had missed, but perhaps what stood out to me the most were the many stories of the way that God had pursued each individual. Whether it was a reflection of the way that God had first opened their eyes to Him or a real-time story of God’s presence in their week, I was left grinning every time at the thought of how personally our Father pursues every single one of us. 

The other day I encouraged you to pursue Him while you wait, but today, as this weeks moment of stillness, I want to encourage you to step back and consider the ways in which He has pursued you or the ways in which He is pursuing you in this very moment.     

A few months ago, I was listening to the Christian radio station on Pandora when a song called “Goodness of God” by Jenn Johnson began to play. Having been a long while since I had last heard it, I just sat still and soaked in the lyrics. As I listened, I felt as though the Lord put my very special friend, Sara, on my heart, so when the song came to an end, I forwarded it to her with a brief message to let her know that I was thinking of her. A while later, I received a text with great thanks for the perfectly timed message in the midst of a chaotic day at work.  

A few days later, I found myself in the front rows of a new church; the first church on my quest of finding a place to lay some roots for the foreseeable future. Not only was the message preached that morning on the exact scripture out of the book of John that I had studied when I woke up, but as the band began to play the last song of the day, I saw the lyrics of “Goodness of God” appear on the screen before me. I knew that this was the church that the Lord would have me to be in for the time being and as the song played, I was comforted by my friend from afar, in knowing that we too, shared in the joy of this song. 

Fast forward a month or two, and I found myself at the bedside of my patient. Just as with many of our patients, this particular patient was terrified to move, because he knew that when he moved, especially with big movements like sitting on the edge of the bed or standing, his oxygen levels would drop and he would be struggling for every single breath that he needed to breathe. Though he knew that it would be a challenge, he was determined to get some time outside, so we slowly made the transition from his bed to the wheelchair. Upon sitting in the chair, his anxiety spiked as his oxygen levels dropped. With very little improvement in having played a Garth Brooks song, as it had worked the day before, I decided to then play my now favorite song for him instead. As the lyrics of “Goodness of God” poured through the speaker, I watched as my patients oxygen levels slowly began to rise and his anxiety began to fade as he released every fear-produced, visible tension from within. I again, thought of Sara, who being a nurse would completely understand the peace that this song brought into these moments for both myself and the patient. 

Within the past two plus years, I couldn’t even count the number of times that Sara and I have texted each other in saying, “I can’t wait for the day that we get to worship side by side again.” Well, this weekend, we got that long awaited opportunity. After running across the parking lot to embrace one another with the most joy-filled, smile-infused hug, we entered the church doors together and found our seats in the auditorium. Before long, the band came out and worship began… the day that we had been looking forward to was finally here! It didn’t even matter how loud the music was, what songs were played, or if we even knew the lyrics, we were both smiling from ear to ear in simply being able to praise the Lord together once again. 

BUT GOD, in His goodness, kept one special song for last. As the message on friendship came to a close, and the band came out on the stage, those familiar lyrics appeared before us on the screen. 

“For all my life you have been faithful.

For all my life you have been so, so good. 

With every breath that I am able.

Oh I will sing, of the goodness of God.”  

I don’t think I sang a single word of the first few verses because I was laughing, joyously laughing, at the goodness of our God. 

Friend, as we kickstart a new week, I want to encourage you to seek a moment of stillness today. Take some time to consider the ways in which the Lord has and is pursuing YOU. He knows the number of hairs on your head and He wrote every one of your days into existence before you were even born. He cares for you immensely and loves you immeasurably. He knows the depths and desires of your heart and He wants to be in relationship with you. He is aware of the every way in which you have been uniquely created and that, I am sure, is greatly reflected in His pursuit of you. 

Those things that may have gone unnoticed in the past or have been written off as coincidences, let us now turn into testimonies of the goodness of our God. If you feel led to do so, whether here in the comments, on the phone with a friend, or in the checkout line with a stranger, please share the about the way in which the Lord has or is pursuing you today. There is beauty in every single one of our stories, my friends!

Soak in His goodness today. He is good, all the time; all the time, He is good.