Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see-how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him. Psalm 34:8
I am blown away by the goodness of God. He has opened my eyes a little more each day to His unconditional, unrelenting love. Starting a few weeks ago I have been seeing how in our lives, we really taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. Psalm 34:9
On Sundays, Wednesdays, or even just in the confines of your secret place, we sing praises to God in worship. He is so worthy of our praise and delights in it. But when we try to give our worship to Him, He only pours so much more back into us! This is the God we serve! He doesn't sit there and listen to us sing about His goodness, He pours Himself even more into our lives. After times of worship, I feel so full of joy, peace, and alive!
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11
His goodness is shown through His commands. David covered this part really well in this psalm. He describes God's laws by what they do. They "refresh the soul", "give light to the eyes", "give joy to the heart"... God is not trying to hinder us or be a Nazi rule-maker. He has given us His heart and His love through His commands. They protect us and allow us to see God. Jesus said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled...Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:6, 8.
Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22-24
His commands then lead me to think of His grace. And how we are justified through faith, not by our works. All we have to do is accept this wonderful gift. No, we do not deserve it, but out of His goodness and love for us, He has given us an atonement for our sins. Too often, I get caught up with all the other things of God, but we must gaze back at the Cross and thank Jesus with our lives.
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:9-13
All God does is give, give, give. He is a deep, deep well, satisfying all our thirsts. Our great and glorious King is so gracious to us that He has not only given us His law, faith, and Jesus, but also His Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is in us, we can delight in His fullness. He gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Who wouldn't want all of that! But that is not all. His Spirit is a promise to us, guaranteeing our inheritance through Jesus. His Spirit gives life and speaks to us and through us. Also, after Jesus conquered death He gave us His Spirit of power and love and self-discipline. Paul sums this up in Romans 8.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:15-17
Finally, we haven't even tasted the full goodness of God until we meet Him face to face in Glory. We are only on this earth for a short time. Even as we struggle through this life, He is preparing a place for us. By walking with Him, we are storing treasures that will last forever in heaven. On that glorious day when we meet our Creator, we will be able to clearly see His goodness and celebrate in His gift of eternal life with Him. And sing with the angles "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty!"
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29
