We can’t share about God’s goodness if we don’t see it.
Do you know how God has been good to YOU?
Join us as we continue our study of Psalm 145 this month. Today we are on Psalm 145:8-12. [See all the posts here.]
Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Can You See?
I couldn’t see closely without my glasses. And I couldn’t find my glasses.
I realize people often need reading glasses when they’re older. Yet I didn’t think it would happen to me.
But of course it happened to me.
How often have I misplaced my glasses when I need to read instructions? Or when I want to look at a picture someone is showing me on their phone? Or read a book to my granddaughter that contains fine print?
When I’m not intentional about keeping my glasses with me, I miss out on seeing good things.
Maybe that’s what David was trying to get across to us in Psalm 145. Not about reading glasses, per se. (How did they manage without glasses back in the day?)
But maybe David was saying this:
Be intentional. Look closer. Pay attention to the good things that God is doing in our lives.
On any given day, we can see bad things happen around us. We wonder why God isn’t rushing in to remove all obstacles or heal all sicknesses, even though He can. When we don’t understand what is happening, we can be quick to jump to wrong conclusions
But what if instead of jumping to blame, we jump instead to grace?
3 Ways to Find the Good in God
Here are three things we see David doing in Psalm 145:8-12 that we can do, too, to find the good in God.
1. ATTRIBUTE GOOD THINGS TO GOD
When David saw good things happen, he attributed the good things to his good God. He knew that God was full of mercy and grace and love. He knew to look for God’s goodness in His creation.
When we see good things happen, explainable or mysterious, we, too, can give thanks to God for them.
Be specific. Perhaps God worked through a person or science or nature to make the good thing happen. But all goodness still originates with God.
If He is good to all (Psalm 145:9), that includes you.
2. DOCUMENT TO REMEMBER
Another way to find the good, is to keep track of it. David wrote poetry and songs to document the good things he saw God do.
How can you set up reminders to remember God’s goodness in your own life?
Write it down. Make an altar. Take a photo. Practice remembering your own stories with God. God wasn’t only good to those in the Bible; He is good to each of us in this very day.
3. TELL OTHERS ABOUT IT
I’m glad David shared his words about God’s goodness with those around him, and consequently to us. We still praise God through many of these same words, thousands of years later.
Don’t keep God’s goodness to yourself. Let others know when you see Him at work in your life and in their lives.
Sometimes we can miss the hand of God in our busyness, but when we look closely, we see His fingerprints on all good things that happen around us.
Focus on His Goodness
I later found my missing reading glasses. They were on the kitchen counter where I’d last used them. I’ve since learned to stock up on reading glasses from the dollar store; I keep a pair tucked away in several spots around the house.
Likewise, we can keep our goodness glasses handy. When we’re having a bad day or need to encourage a friend or just simply want to praise God, put them on.
When we look closer for the good things that God is doing:
- We’ll begin seeing more and more good things.
- We’ll have more peace about the future.
- And we’ll discover our faith is growing deeper and stronger.
By keeping good theology plainly in sight—that the Lord is good to all and His mercy is over all—we will find it easier to give thanks to the Lord and bless His name.
Focus today.
Open your eyes to God’s goodness all around you. It’s there. It’s personal. And it’s glorious.
Study Questions
1. Read Psalm 145:8-12 in a variety of translations. You can do it here.
2. All that God is and does is good. Read more scriptures about His everlasting goodness and how it impacts us.
- Psalm 31:19
- Psalm 34:8
- Psalm 84:11
- Psalm 107:1
- Nahum 1:7
- Romans 8:28
- Ephesians 2:8
- 1 Timothy 4:4
- James 1:17
3. Pray and ask God to reveal ways He’s been good to you this week that you may have overlooked.
4. Talk with a family member or friend about ways you’ve each seen God’s goodness this week. Spur one another on to tell of His mighty deeds and the splendor of His kingdom.
How has God been good to YOU lately? Please share in the comments.
Yes, God is good every day. All the time. It is us (who sometimes need to find our glasses) who don’t always remember this. The verse from Ephesians is one of my favorites. I sometimes say it to myself when I need reminding!
Yes, the Ephesians verse is SO good for me to remember, too, Laurie! It’s only by His grace, not my own doing, that I am saved. That helps me put things in perspective when I forget to see His goodness surrounding me every day.
We all need to wear our God-glasses, each and every day, Lisa. He is good and kind and merciful, and we should be focused on those positive aspects and we celebrate and praise our Lord.
Blessings!
(I misplace my readers, too!)
I’m amused when I add up how many glasses I now have tucked away in my house. :) But they each come in handy. I want to have easy access also to remembering to look at God’s goodness like you’re saying, Martha. There is so much to praise Him for. Blessings to you too!
Great post, Lisa. I can identify with the glasses– I try to wear clothes that have pockets, so I can keep glasses handy. But I keep a couple of extra pairs on hand, too. I get frustrated having to whip them in and out, but then I really am glad they are available. I don’t know what folks did before glasses were invented, either.
God’s goodness surrounds us, but we need intentional “eyes to see.” Some years ago, in a Thanksgiving service at our church, a college girl expressed longing to see God do something “big” in her life. But the everyday manna is just as big a miracle and blessing as some of the bigger things God does.
I was thankful that this site published a post about Ebenezers a few years ago, which prompted me to write down some of those major “God moments” in my life. I’ve reposted that at least once with updated additions.
I love your Ebenezer posts, Barbara! I remember them. Yes, I have to be mindful about writing things down too because I forget. I keep a One-Line-a-Day Journal year-round and reading back through them, I’m reminded how good God has been to me in the past. And if He’s been faithful in the past, He will be faithful in the future, too. Those everyday manna meals are indeed as miraculous as the “big” things.
Thank you, Lisa. I needed this. God is still good and full of goodness. Always. No matter what. I just started reading Michele Cushatt’s new book – Relentless. I have only read two of the twelve chapters yet, and I love how she ties it in with God’s telling the Israelites to get twelve stones from the Jordan, reminders of God’s presence in the midst of pain. She gives this challenge – “Hidden in the raging middle of your most harrowing experiences sit the makings of an altar, stones that bear evidence of God’s presence and deliverance, even if it didn’t look the way you thought it would. I want you to look for those stones. When you find them, I want you to pull them from the muck of your life and build a memorial.” Love and blessings to you!
Those stones are heavy when we try to carry them; memorials when we lay them down. I know this is a heavy time in your community with such loss. :( Praying for much love among you all to feel the Lord’s compassion with you as you grieve, Trudy. Sometimes it’s harder than others to see the goodness of God but I’m inspired by your faith to find it even in the hardest of times.
I’m trying to be more intentional about #3. I live inside my head so much that I fail to express the gratitude I’m feeling for God’s goodness, and I want it to change the aroma of the room I’m in!
I’m with you, Michele. I think it a lot more than I express it. Sometimes it’s to our advantage to not say what we’re thinking. :) But other times, not. I want to be more intentional, too, about sharing God’s goodness.
Lisa, what an excellent point. We need to see and take note of God’s goodness to be able appreciate and share it. I love telling and hearing about God’s goodness.
You’re a light, Debbie! We definitely need more light in the world. Sharing about God’s goodness brightens up dark places.
Sometimes when I am in a funk and can’t focus on what to be thankful for, I start with my own body. Thank You, Father, for the gift of the amazing way You designed our bodies. Thank You for every beat of my heart and every blink of my eye. Thank You that I am healthy for my age and still have all my teeth and limbs. Thank You that I can walk and talk. You get the idea. By the time I get through all that, I am usually in a very good mood with proper focus on the Most High God. Once I get started on that type of thankfulness it is easy to keep going . . . for family, for friends, for situations, etc. And yes, even for the abundance of reading glasses :D
This is such a wonderful practice! I can understand how it would refocus you to a grateful perspective. Thank you for sharing how you do it; it’s something that we all could practice anywhere, anytime. The Lord is good to put us in community to learn from each other.
I think you just helped people with depression!
When we do as you’ve advised it makes us see life a little more how He designed it to be.
And then comes peace, which in the Greek transition from the NT means prosperity… pretty cool.
“…And then comes peace.” Love this, Floyd. Peace is a result of our obedience and our gratitude. We can’t manufacture it on our own; it’s God’s gift to us. I’m not always aware on the surface of the peace He gives, but I know it’s there deep down.
I loved your post and I am so glad you added it to our Grace & Truth Link-Up. I wrote a post on God’s goodness last week and I feel like your post added everything I was missing. I’m looking around right now at God’s Goodness and you are part of that. Maree
Thanks, Maree! We can never hear or talk too much about how good God has been to each of us.
I can’t name one good thing God has done in my entire life. Every time something seems to begin to look good and I am so thankful and praising God for finally coming through, He turns it into something more horrible than if He had never brought it about. There is not one day or one memory even that has even been worth existing for. Nothing that just doesn’t break my heart for trusting Him and putting all my faith in Him for decades.