He is Good...

I'm not really sure what's been up with me lately, but things have been pretty hard. I guess in life sometimes, you might not even know what it is that's eating at you, but it becomes pretty clear when you blow up at innocent people over the tiniest random things. That's the story of my life lately. I don't know why I just shared that. I pray to God that whatever I go through, no matter how hard it is, that if I can use those trials to encourage at least one person, then it's all worth it.

There are millions of things I could have written this past week, things that have been going through my heart, and things that God has shown me. I feel bad that I haven't shared all of them, in the hopes that they might have encouraged someone, but the truth is that I really just needed time to process.

God is good. He always, always is. I never really understood what that meant until recently. I guess it was one of those things that I just grew up hearing and saying in church; I knew it was true, but never actually grasped what it meant. God is good. Good like chocolate ice cream on a hot summer day. Good like the sound of my sweet girl's giggles when I'm tickling her. Good like the strong, loving embrace of my husband after I haven't seen him for weeks on end. God is good. His goodness encompasses many of His attributes: He forgives, loves, has mercy, and shows compassion. He is the greatest lover you could ever imagine. He paints rainbows and sunsets into the sky to show us how much He loves us. I mean, do you hear what I'm saying: He is good. He's not angry. He doesn't hold grudges or get offended. He's not mean, He's not stern: He's purely, absolutely, thoroughly good.

Ah, it feels good to just think about it, to even believe for one second that that might actually be true: that the Almighty, Infinite God is good and not... mad. That He loves me and isn't tired of me. That He believes in me. That He is for me and not against me. When is the last time you allowed yourself to believe that? Are you like me and need to be reminded everyday, or are you confident like the Apostle John who believed in the love of God so thoroughly that he called himself the 'Beloved'? I want that kind of faith in the goodness and love of God.