What's So Good about God?

If you look around for very long, optimism seems foolish. You can vote for Obama or for Romney. One will drive the country off a cliff at 90 mph and the other at 50 mph, but neither will actually turn. You can see holes riddling churches where their treasures became earthly, either in possessions or in theology, and moths have eaten and thieves have stolen. Education is declining. Sin is rising. More Christians died for their faith in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined. It doesn't look good.

So I say, "My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the LORD." Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him (Lam 3:18-25).

I think this reflects facts, a truthful view of reality. On one hand, "My strength has perished and so has my hope." On the other, "The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease." From my vantage point, things look really bad -- and rightly so. From the vantage point of knowing God, I have hope in Him. To those who wait for Him, He is good.

So we can count our blessings, not setting aside the real problems, but recognizing His real goodness. God can be severe, but it's His kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4). God has already "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph 1:3) which includes a long list of marvelous and unequaled delights. We are chosen, adopted, recipients of His grace and mercy, blessed with wisdom and insight into His will, given an inheritance in Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit, held as His redeemed possession for the praise of His glory (Eph 1:3-14). We have the Holy Spirit -- the Comforter -- who leads us into truth and gifts us with spiritual gifts. We are called to holy living but not by our own might; we are empowered and enabled by God who dwells within us. And the list has just begun.

What's so good about God? Well, everything, actually. Our problem is typically that our finite and sinful natures keep us from seeing it. But it's a good thing to remember as often as you can. God is good. God is good indeed.