Promises, promises

I recall how my grandmother has a promise box. Inside where little scrolls of paper upon which a daily text was printed. On our Christian journeys  it can be easy to focus on ourselves and our difficulties. But as we read Bible promises about who God is, we can lift our eyes away from our own situation to the God who is infinitely good. We start this months daily devotions of “Promises, Promises” with Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

How would you define goodness?  Here are what some people suggest.

- Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. 

• The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.
• True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.

Randy Alcorn talks about what happened to his friend, Ethel Herr in his new book, What Good is God. She had had a double mastectomy. Then two months later, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends in shock asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?"

Herr says, "As I sought to explain what has happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me. God has been preparing me for this moment. He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before. He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me. He has given to me joy such as I've never known before -- and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears. He has taught me that...he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey... God is good no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither."

In Phillip Pascal’s poem,THE GOODNESS OF GOD..we read

His goodness is an ocean that has no shore.

A Mountain that has no summit.

A Road that has no end.

Not meagre, but much.

Not skimpy but sufficient.

Not little, but limitless·

Not barely, but bountiful·

Not feeble, but full.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I praise You, thank You and glorify You. I confess today that You are a good God and that Your desire toward me is always, always, always good—no matter what. I thank You that You desire only good things for me and never bad. And You never want me to go without the things You've promised. Amen