God is Good

Last night while walking home with Michael, while we were talking about various and sundry things, he murmured, "God is good." As per my habit, I asked him, "How?" (or sometimes it's why?) because I want to know not only that God is good, but why people are saying that about him. It's so easy to simply sit there and say, "God is good," and not follow it up with anything. Michael, after good-naturedly groaning a little, proceeded to tell me how God was good.

It got me thinking though.

God is good. There's no doubt about that. Even the most hardened heart, when faced full on with God's grace and goodness will have to admit that God is good. But sometimes, like Monday mornings, it's hard to realize that God is good through the sleep-induced fog. Which is why I'm about to ask myself the question. How is God good in my life, right now?

God is good because I am breathing. God is good because I am currently aware of all my faculties and they work. God is good because He created the sunshine that is pale-y washing the outdoors. God is good because of the wind that tangles my hair whenever I try to walk somewhere. God is good because He is love, and justice, and mercy, and patience, and jealous wrath, and righteousness, and salvation. This I can say with ease.

All these things are good though. They're good for me. They don't really hurt me. But God is still good when he takes everything away.

God is good when I'm not breathing. God is good when I am incapacitated by pain. God is good when it's raining and miserable outside. God is good when classes are hard, and I'm failing miserable at a subject. God is good when people shun me. God is good when I am tired and falling apart. God is good when I can't find any good in the world around me. God is good because He is love, and justice, and mercy, and patience, and jealous wrath, and righteousness, and salvation. God is good through the bad times too because all of it is used to drive me closer to Him.

I have such a limited view of my world. All I can see is the happenings around me. I'm a big picture person and love to know what's going on in the grand scheme of things, but thank goodness I don't. God is God. I, thankfully, am not. If I were, I would try to control things, and God would cease to be good.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that God is good no matter what, but I often have to be reminded and remind myself of that fact. And because God is good, we are called to praise Him. Thank goodness we always have reason to praise Him, because we were created to praise Him. Yet another amazing thing about God.

Praise God for His infinite grace and mercy and wisdom. At least He knows what He's doing.