Yes! There is Good News!! 1.21.17

Do you know that God is good? There is a song that, for the most part, our grandchildren taught us to sing. The first few words are, “God is good, all the time; He put a song of praise in this heart of mine.” It is a delightful song, and I find it rolling around in my head from time to time. For me, it is a reminder that, not only God is good, but that He is good all the time. He is good even when I don’t feel good. He is good even when things around me seem quite troubling. He is good even when the nightly news tells me that the world seems to be falling apart. Yes, God is very good!

The good news is that this God and Father of ours has all things under control. As the scripture says, “He knows us, that we are but dust.” That quote is from Psalm 103:14. For this week’s article, I would like to look into Psalm 103 to see just how good God really is.

It begins by telling us to “Praise the Lord,” and to do it with all of our “inmost being.” It tells us to praise His holy name and to forget not all of His benefits. He forgives all of our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies us with good things and renews our youth. That’s quite a list! Some of us who are of a hoary head might question David’s enthusiasm.

In the opening words we are told to “praise the Lord.” The word “praise” is most often translated “bless.” Have you ever felt that you could bless God? In Hebrew the word literally means to bow or kneel. Have you ever bowed your knee when you approach God in prayer? Have you ever humbled yourself, in such a manner, before the mighty hand of God? When you approach the throne room of our Father to ask for forgiveness, healing, redemption, a crown of love and compassion, so you look to blessing Him, bowing before Him, kneeling in His presence. He is the creator!

In Verse 6 of this Psalm we read, “The Lord works righteous and justice for all the oppressed.” Some might say that they have felt oppressed, and yet God never worked these things for them. But when we do, who “are but dust,” kneel before the one who created all the hosts of Heaven, do we do so in poorness of spirit, meekness and purity of heart? (See Matthew 5:3 - 8.)

David goes on in Verse 7, to say that He made His ways known to Moses. Can we pause here and ponder this? God, the Creator of all things, who’s ways are higher than ours, stooped down to make His ways known to Moses, then allowed Moses to write them down so as to be passed on to us. This is good stuff; we need to visit Psalm 103 again.

Until next time, remember - “God is good, all the time.”