God Is So Good

“Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?” (Ps 106:1-2 AV)

 

Waking up to a heated house this morning made me treasure these verses even more so than before.  One of my phobias is unplanned disasters in the home.  A burst pipe, a broken furnace, a burst hot water heater, a leaking roof.  All these and more go through my head as possibilities of life that I dread.  I know, my faith is weak.  At least in this area.  But I will openly admit that building emergencies scare me a bit.  I don’t know if it is because of some events of the past.  I don’t know if it is merely the unplanned and uncontrollable that scares me, or not knowing exactly what to do.  But house emergencies are not my thing.  So, when the weather forecasted a bomb cyclone, I knew I was in for some sleepless nights.  I went to bed last night praying to God that He might keep our heat on.  No power outages and keep our heat on.  I also prayed for our state that God would be good and keep us safe.  My mind went especially to the disabled and elderly.  If they lost power or heat, it would be far worse than us.  God was good and this morning we woke up to a warm house.

I know, some of you may think me silly.  I know, we had an escape plan.  We looked around for an extended care hotel that allows pets.  We have that number on speed dial.  But the fact I woke up in a warm house and everyone was healthy and safe was to me the greatest miracle short of the parting of the Red Sea.  That God was able to keep our furnace running while the wind chills approached a minus fifty was something that, to me, meant God was more powerful than my mind could comprehend.  Then my meditation went to how unworthy I am to receive any of God’s graces.  I began to think of all that I have failed to do for Christ or all that I have failed to be for God.  The list got so long, I couldn’t think anymore.  Again, I awoke to a warm house that I didn’t deserve.

When we stop and think of all that God has done and will do despite our condition before Him, it becomes a humbling experience.  It is meant to be.  Paul rightly tells us that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.  When God is truly good to us, we should feel utterly rotten.  We don’t deserve any of His graces.  When He keeps the heat on or cures what ails us, we should be moved to consider what it is we could do for Him.  The passage above reveals one thing we can do immediately and without delay.  We can praise Him for His wonderful grace and miracles sent our way!  What a truly loving and gracious God we have.