For the Lord is Good

This week's memory verse:  Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalms 136:1

Every single word so vitally important.  Give thanks.  This is the action part of this verse.  We are to do something.  We are to give the Lord something.  The more we cultivate this habit or this lifestyle of acknowledging God and thanking Him, the more we increase our awareness of His Presence in our lives, and the more we increase our expectation of receiving and of experiencing His goodness!  Oh, He's always there and His goodness is always present, but we tap into it when we do something.  When we give Him thanks!

This verse tells us that God IS good.  It's Who He is.  It is what He is made up of.  He is good and only good, therefore, only good comes from Him.  Why is it that so many times when something bad happens, God gets blamed for it instead of Satan, the enemy of our souls.  Scripture clearly states that it is Satan that comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) - not God.  Sometimes it is man's bad choices that brings about the bad.  Man has a free will.  God made man a free moral agent and the ability to choose life or death, blessing or cursing, and God will not violate man's will.   Sometimes, man chooses death and then blames God for not preventing the consequences of that choice.  That's craziness, but happens all the time. Man, apart from God, always plays the blame game.  It's always someone's else fault. We must align ourselves with the Word of God and declare that God IS good, only good and give Him thanks for it - all day, everyday!  Make it personal.  God is good to me!  What does that do?  It causes you to expect His goodness!

For His mercy endures forever! Mercy means compassion, tenderness, forgiveness, or goodness towards others.  Think on that.  This is God's character.  He is always looking upon you and dispensing to you compassion, tenderness, forgiveness and goodness.  That is A LOT to thank Him for!  He never runs out of mercy.  Throughout all of eternity, this is our God.  His mercy to you endures forever.  The next time you're faced with undesirable circumstances in your life, be quick to attribute it to its rightful author, repent if necessary, and GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, for HE IS GOOD and His goodness and mercy will bring you through to victory - every time!