God’s Idea of Good (#53 of 365+)

Our son is learning that we will give him grace when he makes a bad decision, but if he chooses poorly on purpose (and especially if he has an attitude of defiance about it) there will be
consequences to pay. Although spankings are not out of the question in some situations, the most common form of punishment we’ve been using is withholding of privileges. For example, he may not have the TV or the internet for a period of time. Or he may lose his iPod or his allowance for the week. Or he may not be permitted to stay at grandma’s house over the weekend. We know that losing any of these privileges isn’t the end of the world but we hope to cause enough misery to prevent him from repeating his mistakes.

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Psalm 84:11-12 NAS)

When the bible says that God will not withhold any “good thing” from those who put their faith in him, it is not referring to the type of blessings that prosperity and word-of-faith teachers promise. God’s idea of good far exceeds and surpasses anything in this world. "‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9). God has so much more in store for us than just the temporal things! Joni listed a few things he has in mind to give those who trust in him: “Peace… virtue… faith… courage… grace… strength… opportunities to sow his seed… opportunities to shine his light… patience… endurance… the favor of his nearness and sweetness… the gift of heaven-sent joy”. God wants to give us good things that will benefit our spiritual lives and his kingdom. Above all, he offers us himself.

Just this morning I heard musician Bebo Norman on K-LOVE lament that the tour has made it impossible for him to spend more time with his young son. For the full 3½ months of the child’s life, his father has been away for roughly 50% of it. However in light of the rest of his childhood, or even the rest of his life, these past several weeks will be just a drop in the bucket and will easily be forgotten. I was thinking that, in much the same way, our Lord is providing for our needs and one day he will return and we’ll realize that this life was just the blink of an eye from the perspective of eternity. Everything we were struggling for in this life will quickly be forgotten.

Here are some touching lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman’s song Heaven Is The Face: “In my mind's eye I can see a place/Where Your glory fills every empty space/All the cancer is gone/Every mouth is fed/And there's no one left in the orphan's bed/Every lonely heart finds their one true love/And there's no more goodbye/And no more not enough… Oh God, I know, it's so much more than I can dream/It's far beyond anything I can conceive/So God, You know, I'm trusting You until I see…"

Lord, may I learn to treasure what you’ve given me. Amen.