Worship Devotional LXXXV
Originally posted to the Facebook group on 8/21/2021.
Worship Devotional for 8/22/21
There is a simple yet profound truth that we must begin with when we set out to build our lives on God's truth and love. It is a truth that will never change, though our understanding of it may deepen with experience. It is something that we must remember in the hardest struggles and the darkest seasons of our lives, because it is able to give us hope where there seems to be none and to keep us on the right path. We cannot let the simplicity of the words cause the depth of this truth to fly over our heads and not sink deep into our hearts. It is at the very core of understanding everything around us. The truth is this: God is good.
Our definitions of what is good, which may vary and change based on our different experiences and ideals, are not what define God's goodness. It is easy to hear a simple phrase like "God is good" and just passively assume we understand it by whatever we picture in our minds when we think of the word "good." But when we say that God is good, we must surrender our ideas of goodness to His eternal authority and sovereignty. We don't define God's goodness. Instead, God is the One who defines what is good. He is the eternal Creator of all things, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is God, and so He alone is good and also the One who defines what good even is.
Now we know from what He has told us in His word what is good. We know that everything He says and does is good, and we know that He has called us to imitate Him, to be holy as He is holy, and to do good works during our short time on this earth. His will, His purposes, and His plans are all good and result in good for those who love Him and fear His name. In this life, however, we also know that we must experience pain and struggles and hardships. When these times fall on us and we feel overwhelmed, it can be hard to understand how God is still good. But as we trust in Him and in His goodness even when we don't see or understand, we learn to rely on faith and not on our feelings. The Holy Spirit reassures us that God is greater than what we may be faced with, encourages us to endure with the knowledge and expectation that eternally good things are ahead for us, and strengthens us with His goodness from within. So no matter what you may be going through right now, remember and declare the unchanging truth that God is always good!
Psalm 34:8-10:
"Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing."
Songs:
1) God Is Good by Dustin Kensrue
"God is good all the time; all the time, God is good." This saying, which has become popular among various church circles, can be easy to say without thinking very deeply about. After all, we know that God is good. Sometimes it can be hard to believe though. When things are not going well, the waters have risen to our necks, the valley is dark with no end in sight, and the goodness of God seems far away from the difficult places we often find ourselves in, then we must ask ourselves if we really believe that God is indeed good all the time. And as this song declares, we can only know that He is in fact good all the time by remembering the truth of the gospel and of His word. Even if we are failing and things are falling apart around us, what Jesus did on the cross still stands forever. What He won for us can never be lost. So keep pressing on and believing in the goodness of our God! His promises are true, and He is faithful. The struggles of this life are only temporary, but God's goodness and the good things He has in store for us are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
"Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Another way we can know that God is good even when things are hard is to look at the evidence of His goodness all around us. God's faithfulness to us in the past, His unfailing and great and precious promises, the strength and encouragement given to us by His Spirit and His word, all of the glorious and wonderful works of God throughout the earth, the provision of the Lord in our lives, the testimony of creation and how God cares for and tends to life on earth, the encouragement of other believers and the countless testimonies of an ever-increasing number of people who have been brought from death and darkness to life and light in Christ, and the very breath we breathe all testify to the goodness of God. We don't have to afraid; instead, we can be confident and sure that our God is good! He has made it abundantly clear through everything He has made and through all that He says and does.
3) God Is So Good (You Are Worthy) by Pat Barrett
Romans 8:28-39:
"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called; He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
4) Open Up Our Eyes by Elevation Worship
Ephesians 1:17-19:
"I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength."
Theme(s): God is Good
Scripture references:
Psalms 16, 23, 25, 27, 31, 34, 84, 88, 100, 107, 118, 136, 145
Matthew 11:25-30
Mark 9:14-29 (esp. v. 24)
Romans 2:1-11, 8, 12
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
2 Corinthians 1:18-22, 4:16-18
Ephesians 1-2 (esp. 1:17-19)
Philippians 2:1-18
1 Peter 2