God is Good

 

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.  Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds:  “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction.  Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.  But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them.  I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.  Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again.  Not a single one will be lost or missing.  I, the Lord, have spoken!  “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.  He will be a King who rules with wisdom.  He will do what is just and right throughout the land.  And this will be his name:  ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’  In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.  Jeremiah 23:1-6

For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:5

From a human perspective it seems a reckless thing to say God is good.  Amid the terror and tragedy with which we live every day, murder, mayhem, darkness, and loss, how can one possibly think a benevolent God would allow such?  Another log on that fire is something I hear from time to time:  If God is good, why would He even think about crucifying His own son?

The goodness of God is seen in both of those questions, the one about God allowing harmful stuff, and the other one about God causing harmful stuff.  The questions are more about us…individually…we know ourselves to be so much lower than God, and the evil of which we are all capable.  Reframe (more accurately) the questions and they become:  Why do WE do such awful stuff, and How can WE do all that to ourselves?  The answer to both questions is found in nailing Christ to the cross.  It isn’t God who crucified Jesus, it was each of us who was pounding those nails.

Jeremiah recounted what God said about man’s sinful misleading of others.  Instead of walking with God, humankind has always walked in selfishness, and we lead others to do so as well.  That’s what led to the cross.  And as for why God would “participate” in the evil of the cross…how else would God identify with us, love us enough to take our place on that cross, but to willingly give Himself, a sacrifice for our sins?

The bottom line to those age-old questions is that God IS indeed good!  He displayed that for all to see just how much He loved us in all that goodness.  Such are the words penned by Isaac Watts:

See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?[1]

For You Today 

It’s easy to blame God for what happens to us, or the darkness and pain of this world’s evil.  It’s easy, but not right.  Nail scars and a thorn-pierced brow make that point…always, and eternally.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Flat Tire Worship  and  Regaining Perspective   

Title Image:  via Wikimedia Commons   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] Isaac Watts, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, 1707

Regaining Perspective

Monday, May 4, 2020

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:1-5

I read a sad story about a very accomplished woman who committed suicide last week.  The story was punctuated with remarks by her grieving father.  Dr. Lorna Breen, 49, died a hero, said her father, Philip Breen.  "She was in the trenches," he said. "She was a hero."[1]

As the head of emergency services Dr. Breen had certainly seen the results of more tragedy than most of us can imagine.  After contracting the COVID-19 virus she was in a weakened physical condition, and, according to the report, emotionally exhausted, perhaps contributing to her decision to end her life.  The story is so sad considering how much Dr. Breen had to offer with her training and the position of caregiving she occupied.  It is a life ended far short of the depth it promised.  Her dad called her a hero who went down into the trenches of the coronavirus war, and the enemy killed her.

Never having met Dr. Breen, and only reading the story this morning, I would be foolish to analyze anything about her death.  However, having known several people who eventually chose the same closing story to their life’s chapter, I only observe that many times such choices are precipitated by a loss of perspective on the goodness of God’s gift of life.  Despair’s hopelessness is overwhelming for some!

Despite, at times, the horribile circumstances of chance, such as the current pandemic and its associated grim outlook, just breathing in and out, holding the hand of a loved one, or watching a baby sleep can bring exhaustion’s bleak outlook back into a proper focus.  This is what the Psalmist was telling us; serve God with gladness and joy, and remember that He is good.  The simple act of praising God for His goodness and mercy is a two-fold necessity to life.  In order of priority:

1.     Praising God is fitting; it is the rightful response of creation to Creator

2.     Praising God is fulfilling; when we do that which is part of our hard-wired calling, the sense of “rightness” is like a string of dominoes falling in line, one after another.  We do the fitting thing, and the fulfillment of joy, peace, and gladness naturally flood back into perspective. 

Some things in life are simply unexplainable in why people choose what has been called a permanent solution for a temporary problem; suicide is one of them.  It is tragic, but often precipitated by conditions that are transitory, not God’s good choice for your life, no matter how difficult the circumstances have turned.  

For those who choose to end life, those they leave behind face grieving a loss that will never completely allow rest.  For the parents, family and friends of Dr. Breen’s, and the host of people she helped, and those she might have helped, we offer our heartfelt condolences and prayers for comfort.

For You Today

Let’s let the Psalmist voice our last, and hopefully strongest words today:

For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:6

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Psalm 100 see Flat Tire Worship

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[1] An ER doctor who continued to treat patients after she recovered from Covid-19 has died by suicide