God is Good. All the Time.

A stand-by familiar chorus sung at church, church camps and other gatherings had very simple lyrics: “God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He’s so good to me.” As a child, I remember my go-to prayer at the dinner table. Not because I had a tight relationship with Gid, but I sure knew this simple prayer: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” All through my childhood, I heard about the goodness of God. Though my Mama was struggling to put food on the table, nice clothes on me and care for my sick daddy and me, she always sang and spoke about the goodness of God. With me reciting that mealtime prayer over and over, something happened along the way, and I started believing it and receiving the benefits of His goodness. God is great. God is good. Here’s proof positive of God’s goodness. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8). ”For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations”. (Psalm 100:5). “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” (Nahum 1:7). The African Associate Pastor at my church in Frisco, in his beautiful African accent, began every message he gave with “God is good!” It was a call-and-response action. He waited until the congregation replied “All the time!” Then he said “All the time.” And we replied, “God is good!” He also closed each of his messages with the same words. He was impressing upon us the goodness of God. Eventually, we caught on to his enthusiasm. We looked forward to responding as we raised our voices, with huge smiles on our faces and joyously declaring those words. We loved it, and we loved him! And, you know what? The more we declare God’s goodness today — here and now — the more we recognize and experience God’s goodness. Despite everything going on in our lives — the good, the bad and the ugly — God is so good and oh, the plans He has for us. Go ahead. Look back at some of those good, bad, and ugly times and look where you are today. God is so good that He works out the tough times for our good. (Romans 8:28) I’ll be honest with you, there are times when I’m thinking “What’s up with this or that, God?” But then when I declare: “God, you’re so good all the time. I am putting my faith and trust in You.” It takes me out of the “Woe is me” mindset to “Nothing is impossible with my God” mindset.” Those times are exactly the times we declare God’s faithfulness and goodness. Maybe you are struggling with declaring “God is good all the time”. Way too many disappointments, and, quite frankly, you’re a little ticked off at God. You feel like one of His step-children — oh, but contraire! He has such big love (might I remind you of Him sending His one and only Son to earth for us to live with Him forever someday.  In the meantime – He is tallying up big plans for you. You’re going to have plenty of opportunities to remember that God is so good no matter what you may face. He’s probably already working on your way out of those circumstances. That’s just what a loving Father would do for His child. Just remember His love for you will never leave you or forsake you. In fact, it will endure forever. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good! “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:26