God is Good All the Time (And All The Time God is Good)! (Bless The Lord at ALL Times) :-)

We're not quite to the end of the year, but I've seen a lot of people write 2016 off as a loss. (I know it may be in jest at times or it may be a statement of true frustration and exasperation with the outcome of events.) And it's okay to express honest feelings at times, in polite terms.

And we should be honest with the course of events- a lot of bad things have happened in the world- natural disasters, refugee crises, warring conflicts, the sad loss of life for so many- and many other things. (Of course, on a side note with that- I notice that a lot of people mourn for celebrities they've never met and don't really know- which is by no means wrong; it's very sad to hear of their deaths. However, it's weird that we don't mourn for the deaths in every single one of the obituaries in all the newspapers of the world that are published every day as well. Everyone's equally important and it's sad when anyone dies.)

It's really sad to me to see the hopelessness in so many people- especially after the 2016 US election. (And as a qualifier here, let me reiterate again that I did vote, but not for either of the major candidates- and I'm not particularly happy or upset with the outcome. I just have faith that God is in control as always and He will take care of me as always. He allows people to be in power and He also takes them down. His will will be done. "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?.... The Lord in Heaven laughs at their plans. Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve The Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." (see Psalms 2))

I was rather surprised at the election results and as I said- wasn't particularly happy with them or particularly sad- but I was hopeful and trusting that God knows what He's doing. And since I've been in a mood to listen to a lot of Rich Mullins lately (okay- that's pretty much all the time :-))- I had a time of worship playing some of his classics- "Sing Your Praise To The Lord", "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". It wasn't because I was particularly happy with the results- it was because praising The Lord is always the appropriate response. It's because He is God and He reigns forever and He has done good things and my soul will bless the Lord and forget not all His benefits. He loves me enough to send Jesus to die and pay for all my sins and rise again! He has forgiven me through my faith in Him and He continues to make me more like Him as I seek to follow Him. He has promised me eternity in Heaven with Him! I have every reason to always be optimistic- yes, even in times when I may feel anything but.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in The Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, The Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places. (To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.)" (Habakkuk 3:17-19) (i.e. Yo! Strike up the music, bro! Let's get some praise on for The Lord Almighty! :-))

Note the verses don't say, "Because all these bad things are happening." They say, "In spite of these bad things, I'm still going to praise God." Just like Job's response- hey, Job- you've just lost all your cattle (i.e. food and wealth), and all your kids- what are you going to do now? "Naked I came from the womb and naked I will depart- may the Name of The Lord be praised!" Do what? You mean you don't want to go with the flow like your wife said and just curse God and die? "Nah, bro- shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?" Even after you just got these awful sores all over you? Yep- even so, it is well with my soul. (Now, to be fair- Job did get pretty bummed (to say the least- he was near suicidal at some points, arguably)- but at the end of the book, God restores all of Job had lost- he has more kids and he gets his cattle and wealth back. In fact, he gets twice as much as he had before. And God points out that Job spoke rightly of Him (versus his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar).

Especially with the time of Thanksgiving coming up in the USA- it seems really appropriate to take time to thank Jesus for all He's done and praise Him! :-) 2016 has been a hard year in some ways for my family personally- but that could be true every year. God has also done some awesome things this year for my family- He provided my dad with a new job! He provided my brother and his wife with a new house they recently bought! He provided my other brother a new job! My sister's daughter got baptized this year and my dad was able to perform the baptism! :-) He provided my grandmother with better health. He provided one of my aunts a new job! He provided a new house for my other aunt and uncle! He provided me with a chance to visit some of my dearest friends in the world this summer! And He's provided me opportunities to have medical work done in the last few years and that's been a blessing. He provides for me financially all the time and just in general in life all the time. (As my mom says, He must have like a multitude of guardian angels working overtime with me. ;-))

So yeah- no matter what the situation is- my response is this: "Give thanks to The Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever." (Psalms 136:1-3- by the way, that refrain is stated 26 times in that chapter- and usually that happens in The Bible because God really wants us to remember it! :-))

To the One Who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love- the One who doesn't deal with us as our sins deserve and repay us according to our iniquities- the One Whose love is as great for us as the heavens are high above the earth- the One who removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west- the One who shows compassion to those who fear Him- Whose steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him- all praise, honor, glory and power be given! "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalms 103:19- just read the whole thing.)

I will bless The Lord at ALL times- His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth! (Psalms 34:1)

So yes- 2016 has had its sad moments- but it's also had its awesome moments! Praise The Lord for 2016 and all other moments of life He allows me to have! I call this to mind and therefore I have hope always:

"The steadfast love of The Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of The Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For The Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not afflict from His heart or grieve the children of men. To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, to subvert a man in his lawsuit, The Lord does not approve. Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless The Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to The Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in Heaven..." (see Lamentations 3:21-41- better yet, just read the whole chapter and the whole book.)

(Keep in mind that the context of this chapter is of Jeremiah lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened as punishment for the people's sins. And there is a time when we need to test and examine ourselves and let God examine us- see if there be any wicked way in us- and repent and let God cleanse us! [see Psalms 139] But there are also times that calamity comes because we live in a fallen world- but even when God might cause grief, He doesn't do it from His heart! He doesn't do it to grieve people! He isn't a sadist! In the midst of it, He has compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love! As Jesus said in John 9, sometimes bad things happen so that the glory of God can be seen in our lives- just like what happened with the blind dude in that chapter that Jesus made see again!)

So yeah- even when things feel like a nightmare and it's like I'm locked in prison- I'll make like Paul and Silas did while in jail in Acts 16:25 and be praying and singing hymns to God! I'll make like Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and say, "Lord, not my will, but Thine be done." And The Lord's will might be that I need to go through some suffering. Even so- I'll count it all joy because I know the testing of my faith is going to produce steadfastness! And boy- do I need steadfastness to be full in effect in my life. And what great joy it is to know that I've got steadfast Love that never ceases that keeps following me everywhere I go! :-) (Seriously- you just can't shake it. Surely goodness and mercy- (or as other translations render it)- steadfast love- shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of The Lord forever. (see Psalms 23:6)

So wait- what was I complaining about again? "The joy of The Lord is my strength." (according to Nehemiah 8:10) It's God's will in Christ Jesus for me to be rejoicing always and praying without ceasing and giving thanks in ALL circumstances. (Word up! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) (Again- not necessarily for them, but definitely in them- and in the long run, I may even wind up being glad for them because they helped me get somewhere that I needed to be that I wouldn't have been otherwise. It's like the "DuckTales" theme song- "The worst of messes become successes. DuckTales- Woohoo!") And like Romans 8:28 says, "We know that all things work together for good, to the good of those who love God and who are called according to His purpose." So I best be busting out those spiritual songs and psalms and hymns and sing and make some melody to The Lord with my heart- and give Him thanks for everything- just like The Holy Spirit led my man Paul to say over in Ephesians 5:19-20. (Dude man reiterated this whole attitude of being joyful and the command to rejoice in The Lord always- and again I say, rejoice- over in Philippians 4:4. And don't forget that he was doing the jailhouse rock while writing those lines down.)

Check out how back in the day the walls of Jericho came down- when Joshua and his Israelite peeps obeyed The Lord and marched around the town for 7 days (7 times on the last day- and ended things with a shout to The Lord! :-) I daresay they were getting some praise chants on there.)

Jumping Jehoshaphat! He was probably doing some of that and getting down in 2 Chronicles 20, when Jahaziel laid out the game plan for battle and let him know that the battle wasn't his, but rather God's. And so Jehoshaphat put the singers first before the army- and they went out singing and praising The Lord and The Lord brought victory!

What more can I say? If God is for us, who can be against us? (It's a rhetorical question, but the answer is, "No one!") (see Romans 8:31- and read the whole chapter while you're at it and read about the amazing grace and love of God for us that nothing can ever separate us from!)

As Psalms 137 talks about, how can we sing God's praise in a foreign land? ('Cause we are foreigners in this land, but nonetheless- as Rich Mullins called it- it's the land of my sojourn and I will sing His song in the land of my sojourn!) So may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth like peanut butter if I forget New Jerusalem- if I forget The Lord- and don't make Him my highest joy and praise! How can I keep from singing? Praise God for all His many blessings- the Giver of all good things! (James 1:17) Praise The Lord with singing and dancing! (see Psalms 149)
Let everything that hath breath praise The Lord! (Psalms 150) Our God is an awesome God! :-) (see Deuteronomy 7:21)

"Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalms 73:25-26) "Make a joyful noise to The Lord, all the earth! Serve The Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that The Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For The Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalms 100) "Praise The Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise The Lord! Praise The Lord!" (Psalms 150) (Sounds like a heavy metal concert going on there! :-) Or any style music- it doesn't really matter. Just praise The Lord! :-) Praise Him with singing and dancing and with how you live. :-))

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)

The little heading in my ESV Bible calls these verses the "Doxology" section of Jude. So, to reference one of my favorite singers ever again once more, as Rich Mullins was fond of doing at the end of his concerts, let's end this off with the Doxology song-

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye Heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen." :-)