Let's agree, God is good (2)
Disappointment argues against. But faith gives praise and thanksgiving for who God is
Do we live life expressing our disappointment that God has let us down by allowing the difficulties we face?
Or do we approach Him in faith, confident in His goodness and good purposes and doing our best to see them fulfilled? The Bible urges:
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5 NIV
This calls for a response from us. And we have two ways we can go on this. We can either agree (with the whole of the immense worshipping throng) that God is altogether good, whatever we may be experiencing on the ground. Or we can, mistakenly, agree with God’s most aggressive the chief angel who wanted some of God’s glory for himself and ended up getting kicked out of heaven. He is the one called Satan, the accuser, because his stock-in-trade is lies and accusations.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise…
Wherever we are, we will see signs of this tension. Life is full of little encounters and interactions, and these either have a harmony about them, or discord.
We can be more aware of what God is saying outside church than in it. After all, most of life goes on outside the gathering. And similarly, as we become more spiritually aware, we will recognise the incursion of “the thief [who] comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
How we respond, will either position us in agreement with God, or falling for the lie that God is not good. The spiritual dynamics of the heavenly realm are greatly affected by what we agree with. How does that work? What we agree with will be shown by what we say.
This is where our presence can have great effect. We can bring the kingdom of God. The presence of Jesus is life in all its abundance — which of course exposes and constrains the thief — and our simple agreement, voiced quietly if at all, can change the whole spiritual dynamic.