good

Opening Prayer: I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. (Psalm 34:1-5, ESV)

Scripture: Psalm 34:1-11

Journal: How have you tasted God’s goodness lately?  How have you tasted his goodness in a hard circumstance?

Reflection: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  What an invitation!  God desires for us to taste his goodness.  Sometimes that taste will be sweet to our mouths, and at others it will be a hard pill to swallow.  You see, God’s goodness is not contingent on my circumstances turning out according to my preferences.  In fact, even if things turn out as badly as they possibly can, it does not change the fact that God is good.  The words of this ancient prayer remind us of this: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  I will not just praise him when all is well and live is good; I will also praise him when the shit hits the fan and life is as hard as it can get.  At those times our invitation into God’s goodness is simply to take refuge in him.  To find our comfort and peace in the tenderness of his loving embrace.  To let him be our companion in the pain.  Why else would he follow taste and see that the Lord is good with blessed is the man who takes refuge in him?  The fact is that we are good at proclaiming God’s goodness when the operation is successful, or the test comes back negative, or we land that new job, or we ace that exam.  But we are not so good at proclaiming (and tasting) his goodness when the child does not survive, or we lose the job we love, or the cancer comes back.  But there is something of God’s great goodness to be tasted even in the most painful and devastating of circumstances.  The circumstances themselves are not good—not good at all—but, even still, God is!  Just taste and see. 

Prayer

Closing Prayer: The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. (Psalm 34:15-20, NIV)