And Yet

These are just the beginning of all that he does,
    merely a whisper of his power.
    Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power? Job 26:14 (NLT)

This morning I was reminded in a You Version Bible Plan of this line from C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series.

“Of course, He [Aslan] isn’t safe. But he is good.”

That made me really happy. I get excited when I remember that God isn’t safe. And it comforts me to know he is good. And then I realized there were a few other things about God that made me feel excited about who he was yet strangely comforted at the same time.

God, You are stable. Yet not predictable.
You bring security. Yet not always safety.
You are meek and gentle. Yet powerful and fierce.
You offer amazing grace. Yet you let us face our consequences no matter how painful.
You hold firm to your plan. Yet you delay so more can be saved.
You rule the universe with just a word…a nod even. Yet you make yourself small so we can recognize you.
You know the number of hairs on my head. Yet the vastness that surrounds you is mind boggling.
You know everything from the beginning to the end. Yet you want us to come share our day.
You always hear me. Yet you don’t always answer my questions.

Today Lord, I bow here before you unable to comprehend fully who you are but so thankful I get to see but a glimpse. That glimpse sustains me. Amen

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:3

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20

What Is Good?

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NLT)

A common saying among Christians is “God is good!”. I started wondering what that means exactly. The word ‘good’ can be used a lot of different ways. Looking it up in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, I found a few examples. Here are a few.

• Of favorable character or tendency - check

• Virtuous, kind- check

• Loyal - check

• Close (as in a good friend) - check

• Praiseworthy - check

• Of the highest worth (as good as gold) - check

• Can be relied on - check

It seems when you think about it, we can define ‘good’ in a lot of different ways. It’s one of those words in the English language that has multiple uses and meanings. Maybe that’s why we use it to describe God. There is not one way to describe who he is. And to each of us, he is a God who is personal. When I say God is good, I may be saying he is true and present. When you say God is good, you might be saying he is worthy to be praised. All of them are correct.

Have you thought about what God’s goodness means to you? Why do you think he’s good? What is it you know about him that causes you to think this?

When you answer that, give thanks for it!

Pointing In The Right Direction

Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Deuteronomy 9:6 (ESV)

You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people. (NLT)

Recently, I was talking to a group of people and started telling a God story. A God story is a story where you get to see God move in your life or in someone else’s life. It’s where it was totally obvious it was him and no one else. I love God stories!

As I started to tell the story, I left out a part that pointed to God and his greatness. When I inadvertently did that, the story became more about how God did this for me. Which ever so slightly shifts the glory from who he is to who I am. Luckily, a friend in the group reminded me and I adjusted.

Now, I didn’t purposefully leave that part out. I always want to give God the glory. But, we are human and I wonder if sometimes we speak too quickly before we think of the ramifications of our words. Who are they pointing to? Who gets the credit? Who gets God’s glory?

I felt convicted after this and I’ve been talking to God about it. I don’t ever want to put myself on a pedestal. I want so much to always point to him. A few days later, I was driving and listening to my Bible app in my car and I heard today’s verse. God was very clearly telling the Israelites that their gift of the Promised Land was not because they were good, but because God was good.

We can definitely apply this to our lives. God still does work miracles. He still shows up. As I ponder this, I want to make sure that in everything I do, in all my words and actions, I am pointing to him. Because I am not good. He is.