May 27, 2010
Goodness and Mercy Today
“The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.”
Psalm 145:9
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God’s goodness and mercy surround me every day. God said so. Can you imagine God being good to every person you see? God shows me His goodness to every one by providing food, clothing and shelter. He gives air to breathe and bodies designed to fit perfectly into the life of this planet. We have marvelous immune systems to ward off all kinds of invaders that would harm our bodies.
But wait, I hear you say. I see people starving, homeless, facing divorce, foreclosure, unemployment and all kinds of difficult things. In this case, God tells us that He still remains merciful. No matter how bad things may appear to be today, God promises mercies. No one goes without God’s mercies. He said not only is He good to all, but He is also merciful to all of us.
Consider what Jesus said about God: “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Jesus said this in the context of loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you. The sun rising and the rain falling demonstrate God’s goodness to every person on the earth. Without them, our planet would not be habitable. By the way, did you notice how God refers to “His sun,” because He made it and owns the entire universe.
Human sin has polluted God’s entire planet we call earth. In Hebrews 6:7-8, God wrote: “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God, but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” Thorns and thistles picture the effects of sin upon the earth (compare Genesis 3:18). So, God is telling us that man’s sins have messed up the world, but God withholds punishment upon all men by still providing sun, rain, food, and a habitable planet. We live here only by the daily mercy of God. God has already fixed a time where He will consume this whole planet with fire, to make new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:10).
The greatest goodness and mercy of God are found in God’s plan of salvation. The Father loved every person He ever created. God the Father sent God the Son to die for the world’s sins, and mine in particular. God the Son died for my sins, and by God’s grace and mercy, gave me eternal life on the day I asked for God’s mercy and forgiveness, believing that my sins had been forgiven because Jesus paid the price for them. He died for me. God the Holy Spirit now lives permanently in my life, producing a powerful fountain of abundant living. Every day I see God in my life, I see His goodness and mercy to me. Likewise, every time I see another believer, I see God’s goodness and mercy in our lives together. When I begin to look for God’s goodness and mercy, I see it all around me.
Application for Today
Today I am going to see God’s goodness and mercy all around me. I will feel the breeze, smell the air, watch the waves, and live another day on God’s planet. I will see my wife, and thank God she knows Him. I will see my believing friends, and praise God for His goodness and mercy to all of us. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and gave us freely of His goodness and mercy. Surely goodness and mercy/lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23:6). What are you looking at today?
