God is Great

You've heard the old prayer: "God is great; God is good. Let us thank Him for our food." Setting aside the unfortunate fact that "good" and "food" don't actually rhyme, what do you think about that? Is God great? Is God good? Does God provide? We repeat the concept often in word and song. Several songs say, "God is good all the time" and another urges us to ask, "How great is our God?" One clever singer wrote, "Good God Almighty" because, they say, He is good and He is almighty. And we nod and repeat the words either as lyrics or ideas, but do we believe it? Do we even actually arrive at the point of asking and answering the question, "How great is our God?" You see, I think most of us nod and agree that He's great ... without thinking much further about it or applying it to every single situation in our lives.

Certain groups -- military, emergency services, etc. -- do what they call "drilling." Here's the idea. In particular situations it is best if you don't think about what you should do; you should know. It saves time, effort, mistakes, etc. It's like muscle memory. You teach your muscles to do certain tasks and they don't need much help from you in performing them. Or strength training, where you build up the strength you need before you need it so it is available when you do. We ought to be doing this all the time.

We are commanded to think in particular ways (Php 4:8). We are told not to be anxious, but to pray with thanksgiving about everything (Php 4:6). Our entire salvation is based on faith in Christ, so shouldn't our lives be, also? I'm not berating or correcting anyone here. I'm hoping to encourage you. Start practicing now. Start telling yourself the truth. Paul said we should be "speaking the truth in love" (Eph 4:15). Shouldn't that include to ourselves? So when we ask, "How great is our God?", answer it. Mull it over. Think it through. Apply it to your everyday existence. "What about here? What about now? Do I believe it?" When we claim, "God is good all the time," really claim it. For yourself. No matter what the circumstances. Give your life "muscle memory" so that, when difficult events or troublesome thoughts occur, your autonomic response will be "God is great; God is good." You can figure out how later. The classic hymn says,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Yes, like that. As a daily practice.