Without fail, my son quotes the remaining lines of this child-like prayer offering his vow of thanks for every meal. Sure, it's sweet to hear him say this prayer and we all say thank you and good job and such a posture of faith.
But aren't we just like him, mechanical in our acts of giving thanks, peeking out of one eye just to see if everybody else is nice and neatly bowing with reverence amidst our religious routines?
The "God is great, God is good" routine will always suffice to the average onlooker. But it makes its greatest appeal to the ones who have surpassed the gentle prayers around the dinner table to desperate pleas around hospital beds, cancer patient rooms, counselor's chairs, and homemade altars.
It's in those moments that we've placed God on the stand to test his goodness. Can the God who made the stars involve Himself in the daily routines or even the emergency situations of my life? If I call His name, will He answer?
One of the songs at the top of my iTunes playlist is Kristian Stanfill's "The Lord our God" that says:
Promise Maker, Promise Keeper
You finish what you begin
Our provision through the desert
You see it through til the end
In the silence, in the waiting
Still we can know you are good
All your plans are for your glory
Yes, we can know you are good
The Lord our God is ever faithful
Never changing through the ages
From this darkness you will lead us
And forever we will say
You're the Lord our God
God's goodness shouldn't rest on whether He detours our journey away from the desert places in life. His goodness shouldn't rest in His decision to let His silence deafen us to a place of desperation. His goodness is certain no matter our circumstances because He cannot deny Himself.
What we must learn to see is that "He will see it through to the end" and "all His plans are for His glory." He will not leave us feeling abandoned forever. He will always remain faithful to Himself. Yes we can know you are good!
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