All Good

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1, NKJV.

A friend included a small card inside of a larger personal note that reads: “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8). On the reverse side of the card, a suggestion is offered: “Draw or write about all the good blessings in your life right now. Then spend some time praising God for his goodness as shown to you.” The suggested exercise touched my heart and challenged me to give intentional thought to the many ways God has blessed my life. How many mornings do I wake up, shower, get dressed, eat my breakfast, and begin the day, presuming these things are simply normal? Have my needs been met so long I have taken God’s many blessings for granted? Oxygen to breathe, lungs to receive it, clean running water, both hot and cold at the turn of a handle; clothes and shoes (too many!) to wear, healthy food choices at my fingertips; these comprise only the short list of God’s sweet blessings.

The world is in turmoil, although this has been true since Adam and Eve were thrown out of the perfect and most beautiful Garden of Eden for their disobedience to God. To be sure, the chaos revolving around the human experience is not the fault of our Creator, who gives you and me “every good and perfect gift…” (James 1:17). Tribulations, sickness, disintegrating relationships, wars, fires, floods, and yes, even tragedies in the skies, and ultimately, death are all the result of living in a sinful world. When calamities strike, leaders around the world encourage us to “pray.”

Friend, may I challenge you to join me in remembering to pray thanking God when life is “simply normal?” Of course, remembering others in times of trouble is important, but even then, shouldn’t we be mindful, that what we ask of God then is nothing short of who God is always? In both the small and great prayers, in times of ease and times of suffering, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow…good!