"Think of His Goodness to You"

“Think of His goodness to you.”

With these immortal words, a hymn writer suggests reflection upon God’s enduring goodness as a means of praise and worship.  As you ponder God’s enduring faithfulness, you undoubtedly agree with the psalmist’s words, “My cup overflows.”  Many “coincidences” of “good luck” throughout our lives are actually God’s amazing grace.  He freely extends His unmerited favor to us.  In fact, God’s radical grace eventuates in genuine, grateful and humble faith.  Periodically, it is in our very best interest to pause and meditate upon God’s unchanging faithfulness.

When we reflect upon God’s countless kindnesses, it is as if we sip from a golden and priceless goblet of His infinite love.  All of us possess a treasure trove of such pleasant thoughts.  As we stop and remember the past deeds of God, we relive those dramatic experiences in which God graciously “pulled our fat out of the fire.” Thus, we exalt Him for His goodness and greatness.  The daily meditation enables us to drink from this divine chalice of salvation. 

Mysteriously, God’s infinitely embodies His love in the majestic paradox of the perfect God-Man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  As finite human beings, we lack the mental and emotional capacity to comprehend it.  As we drink from God’s celestial goblet of love, we can never consume its bounty.  Like the mighty rush of a waterfall it gushes into every nook and cranny of our minds, hearts and souls.  When we reflect on our many blessings, we continually receive divine nurture and comfort.

Sometimes, we merely sip from the cup of His bounteous love.  When things are well, we hardly think of God.  We fallaciously attribute our successes to personal talent and ingenuity.  With reverse circumstances, we flee to God help and guidance.  Regrettably, we only seek His assistance to resolve a current present dilemma.  We fail to seek His presence to learn His ways and ultimately walk in His paths.  We simply take a sip from His cup of love, hoping that it will satisfy us until we need another sip.

Interestingly, God desires we realize His love never fails.  We can ceaselessly rely upon Him.  His sacrificial and unmerited love overflows into all facets of our lives.  Prayer and meditation are spiritual hands we use to pick up this chalice and drink its contents.  Given its sweetness and richness, a sip of the cup’s contents hardly satisfies.  Yet, self-centered fears and narcissism devalue what God offers.  His cup contains an ocean of love.  We limit it to a small pond when we fail to think of His enduring goodness.

Nothing less than genuine love satisfies the mind and soul.  Moreover, the heart will not accept any counterfeit versions of delightful passion, exultation of truly being in love, peace of knowing someone understands you, joy of sharing another person’s sensuality and sexuality and thrill of romantic imagination.  It is impossible to manufacture true passion.  Willingly, you share it or not.  In the words of Bonnie Raitt’s immortal love ballad, “You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.  I can’t make you love me if you don’t.”  Love demands honesty, dignity, respect, trust and truth. 

The prophet, Jeremiah, challenges Israel to pause and consider the goodness of Yahweh as they bemoan their extended period of exile after the Babylonian captivity.  Understandably, many Israelites detest their current dilemma as they inventory the colossal lost of their history, religion, literature, language, and culture.  What would motivate them to praise and serve Almighty God?  After all, He permits the unparalleled destruction of their nation and way of life.  How do they sing songs of praise and thanksgiving in a strange land?  In the midst of this despair, Jeremiah exhorts his people to recall Yahweh’s enduring faithfulness.  Because of the Lord’s mercies, their adversarial circumstances do not overwhelm them.  As a consequence of His mercies, they are not consumed.  Accordingly, they find hope and willingness to preserve when they reflect the Lord’s unquestionable faithfulness.  (Lamentations 3:19-23)

Finally, the author of Deuteronomy admonishes the Israelites to remember the Lord’s goodness to them when they inherit the Promised Land.  He cautions them against denial and delusion once they are living in houses they did not build, drinking from wells they did not dig and eating delicious and bountiful fruit they did not plant.  They are to recall God’s faithfulness in adhering to a covenant He makes with their foreparents.  As they think of God’s goodness, they offer prayers of adoration and exaltation.  Simply, the Deuteronomist considers memory as a meaningful method of prayer which encourages and empowers anyone who withdraws from life’s daily busyness to think of God’s goodness.