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

Midweek Thought ~ Time

I’ve been acutely aware recently how time can so easily pass quite legitimately in a flurry of activities and in response to daily demands. Not so much the bigger picture of ‘wow where did that year go’, but more the day to day hours and how hard it is to protect quiet time ... time to ponder and deepen our appreciation of God’s majesty ... to truly get to know Him.

I am often helped and have real fleeting moments of appreciation for God, with a glimpse of something I wish I could really grasp, understand and protect, as though I could hold onto it within me and never let it go. Once again, David Gooding’s book ‘Bringing us to Glory’ provided one of these moments. In part 6 ‘Prayer’ (the disciple’s journey), he reminds me that I am justified and no longer need to ‘stand at a distance’ ... I can come right into the presence of God because I am completely accepted by him ... I am a redeemed personality and by abiding in him, my mind will begin to renew and I will begin to bear fruit. Yet what is amazing to me, is not just that I can approach God, but that he in the highest, elevated position of power and undisturbed glory, infinitely above earths affairs, “regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer” (Psalm 102v17). He looks down from his sanctuary, he views earth from heaven and listens to us ... the transcendent God has not only looked down, but has come down ... his care is beyond our comprehension. He always hears the prayers and cries from earth.

We have lost appreciation for God’s name ... it is not honoured and hallowed as it should be, it is devalued and defamed even by us as Christians. We have most definitely lost the sense of holiness and what it means day to day.

I believe that if I were to protect time each day to learn more about my God ... his holiness, his glory, his majesty ... then my very being would become more aligned with his will for my life ... my choices, my prayer requests, my attitude and perspective would become more like that of Christ’s ... how marvelous! I know that I have a sense of who he is in a basic way, but it’s growth is thwarted by the lack of dedicated time to develop it into anything deeper, plus the fact that my mind is so puny and can only cope with a certain amount of thoughts each day, most of which are absorbed with mundane day to day ‘stuff’. I get so frustrated when I try really hard to stretch my mind to attempt at comprehending eternal and heavenly things only to hit what is the wall of human limitation and ignorance with a lot of tired thrown in! 

I long for more glimpses of glory.

I long to live in the light of them.

In amongst the daily existence of being a mother and many others things, if I am to grow and deepen my appreciation for the God whom I will one day meet and spend eternity with, I must be resolute in my time management ... I must stand my ground so that I can grow healthy roots, to flourish and enlarge my capacity to understand and live for his glory. Not an easy task ... more of a committed grind, but one with consequences of significant magnitude eternally. Of course our enemy with his machiavellian plans to prevent this very desire, will be upping his attacks ... thank goodness God is greater and is available to strengthen us daily to cope with and defeat his undermining tactics and lies.

I feel small and insignificant, a speck ... yet God in all his magnificence chooses to notice each of us specks on this earth and he hopes to hear from us. Quite astonishing!

Ingrid x

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Just thinking about this evenings football Euro 2020 final, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs Italy 🇮🇹 and this quote came to mind. Seeing as this is a blog about my faith, I’d better relate it to that too! 

We’re encouraged in Hebrews 12 to persevere ... “let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”. It’s a long haul with challenges along the way which is why we must endure and persevere ... not naturally easy things at all. We may have successes and we may experience failure but as long as we keep our eyes focused on the eternal prize and our daily perspective trained through the lens of faith in Christ, we will continue ... we will prevail and we will not surrender or give up!

Every breath we take is a new opportunity for good ... so have courage my dear friend, in the face of any opposition, to stand for what is honourable, just and right.

Ingrid x

Midweek Thought ~ Be a person of truth

Chuck swindoll (Insight for living 25.6.21) wrote:

“We need heroes. I mean genuine heroes, authentic men and women who are admired for their achievements, noble qualities, and courage. Such people aren’t afraid to be different. They risk. They stand a cut above. Yet they are real human beings with flaws and failures like anyone else. But they inspire us to do better. We feel warm inside when we think about this rare breed of humanity. The kind we can look up to without the slightest suspicion of deception or hypocrisy. The kind who model excellence when no one is looking or for that matter when half the world is looking.

I am certain of this—if you are one of those people, then you’re not like the majority. You’re living differently, and I commend you for it. It takes unusual people to make a difference in our world. Mediocre people impact no one, at least not for good. But one person of truth can impact the whole world!”

Do any of you remember that old children’s chorus ... “Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light. Like a little candle, burning in the night?” It was first published in 1868. The words were written by Susan Warner and the music by Edwin Excell. At the end of each verse the words are simply: “you in your small corner and I in mine”.

Here’s the thing ... if we’re more concerned about others noticing our impact and light in the world, then we may as well shoot ourselves in the foot. It’s only when we are content with representing the light of the world in our own small corners, with the voice of truth, that we would ever be ready to impact further afield. The goal is never to be ‘known’, but to deflect any recognition or accolade to the one who is the giver of light and life. If we can be authentic and full of integrity within our immediate spheres of influence then indeed that truth can impact the world.

As the chorus says ... a pure, clear light ... there’s no room for debris, impurity or hypocrisy... God wants a truthful, honest heart, one that’s happy to serve him in the corner he has placed them.

Never give in to fear ... have courage to pursue what God has given you to do. If you voice truth in love then you will never be guilty of mediocrity, but will be aflame with a passion for God’s work and your light will shine clear, leading others to the knowledge of eternal life.

This life is a journey and as with any journey, it must have a destination. To meander in circles without any hope of arriving, would be a somewhat disillusioning state of existence. To loose sight of our destination and purpose is to thwart any impact or spreading of light to those around us. David Gooding wrote: “If life has an eternal goal, then every step of the journey has eternal significance ... We rob this life of its eternal, and therefore of its most important and enjoyable, dimension ... For eternal life is not a something that we must wait until we get to heaven before we receive it; it is an added eternal dimension to this life”.

I am living eternal life right now! 

“Lord, may the rest of my life here on earth, be witnessed as infused with the scent of eternity. May I be known for your truth and your love. Keep me from the corrosive and cancerous nature of comparisons and covetousness so that I remain content and will always accept that what I have is yours and is best used for your glory. Help me to guard my mind and protect my heart from falsehood and wrong influences ... that my life may be busy with tending to the needs of others and filled with thoughts from your word and in many daily moments, in communion with and chattering to you”.

Ingrid x

It’s always good to look forward ...

Sure the past helps shape who we are ... we learn lessons ... we can learn and take inspiration from history ... we grow ... but to dwell in the past isn’t helpful; there’s no future in it.

Hope is in the future ... we have a God who holds the whole world in his hands ... he is both faithful and true ... he is just and will make all things right. Often those who do wrong are not made accountable in our time ... will be, in God’s time.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God” (Corrie Ten Boom).

Every step, even a baby one, is still a step ... just do the next right thing and keep moving forward. Lean in to God for strength when your strength is gone ... He will carry you.

One day there will be no pain, no tears, no regret, no guilt or confusion ... just endless peace and a joy that is currently unfathomable ... now that’s a prize worth striving for!

One Day ~ Cochren & Co:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=So94m-Lp6Pw&feature=share

“The future is as bright as the promises of God” (William Carey) ... here are some good ones: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21v4) ... “Let not your hearts be troubled ... in my father’s house are many rooms ... I go to prepare a place for you. And ... I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14v1-3).

Ingrid x