Thanksgiving: Beholding God's Goodness

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

            -Psalm 34:8

From beginning to end, our God is pure good! God is good in the sense of always having our best in mind. He is good, wills good, and does good. 

As we read through the Psalms, we become impressed how often they declare God’s goodness. The Lord has good intentions: “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, / And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5, NASB).

The Almighty does not withhold any good thing from those who seek him and obey him:

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.

            -Psalm 84:11 (ESV) (see also Psalm 34:10)

The Lord blesses crops, giving food for all (Psalm 85:12). Moreover, the Almighty provides for all our needs: “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, / And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good” (Psalm 107:9, NASB).

However, we often miss the Lord’s gifts. Preoccupied with activity and weighed down with cares, we walk right past the good things all around us. We fail to behold what the Almighty has given us.

A wonderful spiritual exercise is going through the day, spotting all the little manifestations of God’s goodness. I have sought to practice this many days over the past couple of years. In the morning see the Lord’s goodness in providing breakfast, causing the sun to rise, providing a job, surrounding me with a wife and many friends. Throughout the day I see the Almighty’s provision and care displaying his goodness toward me.

At bedtime, I think of 3 things for which I am grateful and express my thanks to the Lord. Then in the morning as my feet touch the floor, I begin my day by expressing gratitude for 3 more blessings.

The practice of looking for God’s goodness totally changes my perspective and attitude as I do so. This month of Thanksgiving is an excellent time for this simple but profound practice. I invite you to join with me in actively and intentionally beholding God’s goodness. Indeed, “The LORD is good to all, / And His mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:9)!

2016 © Glenn E. Myers

This series is Creation Proclaiming God’s Divine Nature, as Romans 1:20 declares, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”