Tag: God’s goodness

In Hot Pursuit

Background Passages: Psalm 23:6; Exodus 33:15:16, 34:5-7

The passage was a familiar one.

The pastor delivering the message at the sweet memorial service for my daughter-in-law’s grandmother this week drew his words from Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd…”

You can probably quote the rest. Yet, for hours after the service, one verse from that familiar Psalm kept repeating in my heart.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6

I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned over the years that when a Bible verse keeps coming to mind long after I first heard it, it’s time to stop and give it some thought. To let God teach me one of his life lessons.

So, I did what I usually do when I want to learn something more about anything. I googled it.

Looking first at Psalm 23:6 in other translations, I found the English Heritage Version of the Bible writing the verse in this way.

“Surely God’s goodness and his unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.”

I like the clarity of this translation. It’s God’s goodness and unfailing love that follow me. I like it because not everything we experience in life is good. Life is not for the fainthearted. I’m reminded of the refrain sung by Grandpa Jones on the old variety show Hee Haw, right before he delivered his spit-filled raspberry in the face of the show’s guest.

Gloom, despair and agony on me.
Deep dark depression, excessive misery.
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
Gloom, despair and agony on me.”

The verse though doesn’t speak about good things following me. It speaks to God’s goodness chasing after me every day of my life. Intriguing, isn’t it?

In Hebrew, the word translated goodness is radaf. It means to run after, to track down as a hunter might track its prey. To pursue and take captive. It conveys an idea of God, the Good Shepherd of the Psalm, being in relentless pursuit of his sheep with the truth of his goodness and unfailing love…his gift for every day of our existence.

So that led me down another Google trail. What is God’s goodness?

When Moses climbed off Mt. Sinai with those tablets of commands from God, he walked into the middle of a pagan celebration where God’s people were cavorting around a golden calf they had fashioned. An idol to worship. Neither Moses nor God were amused.

Hours later, Moses entered the Tent of Meetings and had a deep dialogue with God. God was ready to wash his hands of the unfaithful and ungrateful people of Israel. He told Moses, he would send them on to the land he promised, but he (God) would not be present with them. Moses understood this as the kiss of death for his people. He pleaded on behalf of the people for God to stay present among them, reminding God, as if he needed reminding, that they were his chosen people. Look at Exodus 33:15-16.

“If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15-16)

Being pleased with Moses, God promised to do what Moses asked. Moses asked a lot. He asked God to reveal to him the “glory of God” and God agreed to do so.

“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’” (Exodus 33:19)

Did you catch it. “I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you…” Moses would have the opportunity to see God’s goodness up close and personal. Jump to Exodus 34:5-7.

“Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord. The Lord. The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…”

And, in those words we see that God’s goodness is more than just an attitude or act. It is his very nature. His goodness stems from his core identity. His goodness is wrapped up in the fact that he is Lord. Compassionate and gracious (The same Hebrew root word that gives us “unfailing love.”). His goodness comes with the attribute of being patient and not easily angered, filled with love and faithfulness to his people. Steadfast in his care for his people. Constantly forgiving our shortcomings.

It is this character of God that Moses saw as it passed by from where it had been tracking him down throughout his life.

So, let that marinate for a moment. In a dark time in Moses’ life, God caught up with him. Let his goodness pass before him so Moses could see and feel God’s goodness around him. The Psalmist had experienced God’s goodness and unfailing love so much and so often that he was confident it would “surely” and relentlessly pursue him throughout his days.

There is something about that idea that brings a great deal of comfort to my life in this moment. His goodness is running after me. Chasing me down. Tracking me. Hunting me. In hot pursuit. Taking me captive so I cannot get far away from it. Passing in lock step before my eyes.

Man, did I need to be reminded of this.

I think back over the last year of my life. My son’s stroke. My sister-in-law’s harsh diagnosis of cancer. I must admit that I have been shaking my fist toward heaven and I’m only on the outside looking in at these life circumstances. Why them? Why now? Where were you? Where was your goodness in those moments?

I watch as my son deals with his circumstances with strength and faith, amazed at his dogged determination and grace under a difficult situation. It’s as if God is whispering to me, “See my goodness pass before you? See it in Adam’s response to life.”

I watch the strength of Micki’s faith in dealing with all that life has thrown at her, inspired by the rock-steady trust he places in God, so evident in this her darkest time, as it has been throughout the entirety of her life. I hear God whisper, “See my goodness as it passes before you? See it in Micki’s response to life.”

Through their character and faithful living in circumstances that might shake most of us to our knees, I see God’s goodness and unfailing love pass by. His goodness is never far away from them, from me or from you. It was and remains in dogged, relentless pursuit, always around us throughout our days, just as it has always been.

I remember seeing a post on Facebook this week of Cece Winan’s rendition of The Goodness of God. I didn’t open the post the first time I saw it, but it kept popping up. When I saw it again Friday, I clicked the link and listen to this talented artist celebrate the very thing I needed to hear.

“I love you, Lord.
Oh, your mercy never fails me.
All my days, I’ve been held in your hands.
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head,
I will sing of the goodness of God.
Cause all my life you have been faithful.
All my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able,
I will sing of the goodness of God.”

The writer and composer of this beautiful song entered a bridge that speaks to God and his goodness in relentless pursuit of his children.

“Your goodness is running after, running after me.
With my life laid down, I surrender now
I give you everything.”

There’s the crux of it. Buried in the bridge. We see God’s goodness only when we lay down our lives in complete surrender to his will and give him everything…every part of our lives. Everything.

I stand only on the outside of the issues facing my son and my sister-in-law, watching them both respond in faith to all that life has dealt them. I am inspired by the strength of faith demonstrated by Adam and Jordan and Micki and Mark.

When I stop long enough to see how God continues to carry them through, I see God’s goodness pass by. It has not been absent. It has not abandoned them or me. I was simply looking in the wrong direction.

Surely God’s goodness has been running after me…all the days of my life.

 

Grateful

Background Passage: Psalm 106:1

We approach the most joyous of holiday seasons from Thanksgiving to Christmas this year under the darkening shadow of Covid-19 as the long-promised fall surge in corona virus cases hits our nation with a vengeance.

We continue to endure a bitter political season that has fractured our country with seemingly no one willing to walk the higher ground. Suspicion invades our hearts, leaving our country teetering in its wake.

Many among us feel…

Isolated and alone.
Divided and angry.
Worried and scared.
Suspicious and accusing.
Pessimistic and hopeless.

That seems to be the condition of the world. I’m not so naive that I cannot see these issues or feel their impact around me. As a Christian, I am not immune to its gravity, but I refuse to let these events steal my joy.

I…we…have so much for which to be grateful even during this uncertain time for God’s gifts and grace transcend pandemic and politics. Surrounded by family, friends and God’s ever-present love, there is a place of peace even in the turmoil of the day. For such things, I am eternally grateful.

So, I remind myself in this week of Thanksgiving to take a deep breath and relax.

We use the term “overwhelmed” to express that feeling of being swamped by the circumstances around us. We rarely, if ever, talk about being simply “whelmed.”

Yes, it’s a word defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “an act or instance of flowing or heaping up abundantly; a surge.”

Rather than feeling overwhelmed, I want us to feel whelmed…to feel a surge of thanksgiving as we reflect on the blessings of life granted by a loving God.

I cannot speak to those things for which you could be grateful. You alone can do that.

As I sit in the quiet of this moment, I am thankful for my parents, my brother and sister, my wife, my two sons and their wives, and my grandchildren. I am grateful for an extended family of “laws and in-laws” who have forever accepted me for who I am. I am grateful for love given and love received.

I am grateful for friends from childhood to present day who, even today, continue to create and share in the best moments of my life.

I am grateful for God’s gift of this community as a place of service and belonging. A people who let me serve and who served me in my times of need.

I am grateful for a church who for four decades has been my spiritual foundation, filled with fellow imperfects who love each other into a more perfect understanding of God’s grace and peace. A people who know their responsibility to be the face, the hands and feet of Christ not just within the walls of the church, but in the city, state, country and world beyond.

I am grateful to my God who saved me and loves me in spite of myself. Whose presence brings healing and comfort to every hurt and need in my life. Whose blessings and grace deepen the joy I feel in my connections and relationships with those I encounter. Whose spirit continues to open my eyes to the vitality of his word.

A host of scripture speaks to our need to express thankfulness to our God. Here are a couple of my favorites.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)

The language of the psalm is an imperative, a command. To the believer loved by God, the call to thanksgiving is not an option. Thankfulness ought to be our natural response as recipients of God’s unmerited favor.

We respond with thankfulness because of God’s goodness. Our limited understanding of goodness, tempered as it is through our lens of sin, is a pale facsimile of goodness that is truly in God. Jesus told us as much in Luke 18:19 when he told the rich, young ruler, “no one is good, except God alone.”

To declare that God is good is to know with certainty that his every word and act is always true and right. It is his goodness that offers redemption to a sinful world…the ultimate act of goodness through the sacrifice of his own son.

When you read “steadfast,” think resolute, unwavering. God’s love never fails. Never abandons. Never falters. Never withdraws.

God’s love always provides. Always sustains. Always nurtures. Always remains. Always embraces. Always comforts. Always endures.

Thanksgiving is a good day to remember. If you dig deeper in Psalm 106, you find that the people of God lost their way when they failed to remember what God had done for them.

“…they did not remember your many kindnesses…” (vs. 7)
“…they soon forgot what he had done…” (vs 13)
“…they forgot the God who saved them…” (vs. 21)

I don’t ever want to be guilty of their forgetfulness. I think that’s why the Psalmist makes his statement in the form of a command, “Give thanks…,” as an on-going directive to always remember what God has done for us.

We are a forgetful people with short-term memories and a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. Thanksgiving is remembering in gratitude a God who does not forget his people nor his promises.

Those people I mentioned earlier, the ones for whom I expressed my gratitude, they came into my life sent by God to be a part of my life. They have been before and beside me the face and hands of his steadfast love and his unfathomable goodness all the days of my life.

I am eternally grateful.

Thank you, God.