Midweek Thought ~ The Goodness of God

“The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend” (AW Tozer).

My oldest sister sent me this song to listen to first thing in the morning. The lyrics are so true and remind me that despite who I am, the ups and downs; the struggles and triumphs; my vulnerabilities, weaknesses and strengths… He is faithful and His goodness is actually running after me (even if I’m heading in the opposite direction). No matter how I feel or whether I praise God in the morning, He wants me and more than that, wants to bless me and pour His goodness into my life. How humbling and marvellous. It reminds me of another song “in the morning when I rise … give me Jesus” (Jeremy Camp). 

This one is by Rhett Walker ~ Goodness of God:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CHG6Ak5Jqkc&feature=share

As much as God’s goodness is “running after me”, let my life and lips continually praise His name and honour Him …. his goodness in me should be returned by me giving him all the glory.

Psalm 145v9 “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made”.

The Austrian born composer Joseph Haydn once said: “Whenever I think of God I can only conceive of him as a Being infinitely great and infinitely good. This last quality of the divine nature inspires me with such confidence and joy that I could have written even a miserere in tempo allegro”.

I fear that we don’t really grasp what goodness means in the biblical sense, and therefore we miss out on what God’s goodness really is. We use the word ‘good’ so easily that it barely resembles a quality at all. Yet in the Bible, good means holy, pure and righteousness … it is one of the fruits of the spirit. Goodness is essentially Godliness. A rather higher state of being than just our every day ‘oh that’s good’ type usage!

It is about being holy (that’s a subject for another day) and having excellence of character. It would be futile to attempt to gain these heady heights of godliness and Christ likeness in our own strength or on our own merit … it requires God’s mercy and grace. 

By absorbing God’s word in our hearts every day, we will nourish and feed the soil of our hearts so that His goodness, pure and holy, will take root and grow within us, flourishing into fruit for Him and as evidence of His love, to others. 

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23v6)

Ingrid x