Ive stopped doing New Years Resolutions. Instead I focus on what the Lord wants to teach me for that year. In the month of January as I was praying for the Lord to put a verse on my heart to be my “verse of the year” and Psalm 119 kept coming up. Specifically the verse , “You are good, and what you do is good” (v68a). I have to admit I was a bit frustrated that this verse was the one. I felt like after deciding to pursue vocational ministry (through the Future Leaders Program) and being poured into through a fire house (thank you Rich), my verse for 2010 would be this incredibly complex, challenging, spiritually “deep” passage. And oh was it.
Months later, in a season of hurt and uncertainty, I am positive that this verse was the exact verse for my 2010. When everything around you seem to be falling to pieces, it is so easy to look to the Lord to blame. It is so easy to be angry with Him. It is so easy to be cynical and stubborn. It is so easy to mentally check out of your quiet times with Him and just check it off the schedule. Instead, He put His simple yet incredibly transformational Words on my heart and I could hear him tell me over and over again, Natalie, my beloved, I am good and everything I do is good.
I remembered the prayer I said as a child at the dinner table, “God is great, god is good, let us thank Him for our food.” How many times did I say that and never dwell on His goodness? When the rich young ruler met Jesus, he called him “good teacher.” Jesus’ response was “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). We use the word “good” to describe movies, food, and even our friends, so it seems that to use it to describe the Lord perhaps minimizes Him. I’m not saying we have to omit the word “good” from our vocabulary, but the fact is that the Lord alone is the only person, place, or thing, that we can trust as truly good. People will fail us. Situations will disappoint us. Jobs will come and go. Money will be spent. However, the God that we seek and serve is good, and He does good. That is a trustworthy statement.
Natalie, I loved reading God is good. I am so proud of you and I know that the Father is well pleased in your service and your availability to His plan for your life. We serve a big, and a good God!