Recently I was able to take the kids fishing to one of my favorite fishing spots in the world. My Dad remembers his Dad digging this pond when Dad was just a boy—he grew up fishing there and my earliest fishing memories are at that pond, and so it’s always special when me and the kiddos are able to fish there.
We had a great afternoon of fishing. I caught some, they caught some, I caught some more (actually they caught more than me; but that's OK). Mom and Dad even joined us and that made it better because it's a scientifically proven fact that everything is better when Mimi and Papa are around.
One reason the day was so enjoyable was how the weather cooperated with us. It was a perfect a day as you could hope for. The temperature was in the low 80s, we had a little breeze blowing, the humidity was low--just perfect weather. If you're familiar with Arkansas weather you know how uncommon it is to have a day like that in July. But we did. And it was great. The great day ended with a drive by the house I lived in when I was a kid--and the weather continued to cooperate. We had the windows down, the sunset was breathtaking, and I was walking the sunny slopes of long ago. And in that moment I was just overwhelmed with a sense of God's goodness. The joy of spending a perfect summer afternoon with my kids and parents, the fish we caught, the memories of years ago and the knowledge that I was making new memories, the perfect weather--all that just sort of flowed together to give me a feeling of gratitude.
But as I was thinking about God's goodness I was gently reminded of another truth--God is good even when it’s humid. My focus on His goodness was based largely on what a pleasant day we'd had together. And that's not a bad thing. God's grace is revealed in every good thing we experience. But the fact is, God is good even when I have a crummy day. He's good when I get to go fishing and he's good when I don't. He's good when I get to make memories with my kids and when I don't. He's good when I get to see a beautiful sunset and when I don't. He's good when the weather is perfect and He's good when it's humid. Malachi 3:6 says, "I the Lord do not change." People smarter than me call that the immutability of God, i.e., who He is--His nature, His essential attributes, that which makes Him God--remains unchanged.
The practical implications of that are incredibly comforting because if God is good then He is always good. When it's humid or pleasant outside, God is good.
And so what I have to continually ask myself is, for what am I praising Him? It's much easier for me to praise Him and thank Him when things are going well. But if He's good then it doesn't matter if things are going well or poorly. If God is good then He's always worthy of my praise. And if I can learn, by His grace, to continually thank Him for who He is, to find my joy not in what He does but in who He is, how much more will I bring Him glory! John Owen said, 'That God is what He is, is the matter of (our) chiefest joy.' May we learn to glory not just in what our God does--rather, may we learn to glory in who our God is. To rest in Him, to worship Him, to find our joy and peace and comfort in Him. God is good even when it's humid. May my life demonstrate that truth.
One reason the day was so enjoyable was how the weather cooperated with us. It was a perfect a day as you could hope for. The temperature was in the low 80s, we had a little breeze blowing, the humidity was low--just perfect weather. If you're familiar with Arkansas weather you know how uncommon it is to have a day like that in July. But we did. And it was great. The great day ended with a drive by the house I lived in when I was a kid--and the weather continued to cooperate. We had the windows down, the sunset was breathtaking, and I was walking the sunny slopes of long ago. And in that moment I was just overwhelmed with a sense of God's goodness. The joy of spending a perfect summer afternoon with my kids and parents, the fish we caught, the memories of years ago and the knowledge that I was making new memories, the perfect weather--all that just sort of flowed together to give me a feeling of gratitude.
But as I was thinking about God's goodness I was gently reminded of another truth--God is good even when it’s humid. My focus on His goodness was based largely on what a pleasant day we'd had together. And that's not a bad thing. God's grace is revealed in every good thing we experience. But the fact is, God is good even when I have a crummy day. He's good when I get to go fishing and he's good when I don't. He's good when I get to make memories with my kids and when I don't. He's good when I get to see a beautiful sunset and when I don't. He's good when the weather is perfect and He's good when it's humid. Malachi 3:6 says, "I the Lord do not change." People smarter than me call that the immutability of God, i.e., who He is--His nature, His essential attributes, that which makes Him God--remains unchanged.
The practical implications of that are incredibly comforting because if God is good then He is always good. When it's humid or pleasant outside, God is good.
And so what I have to continually ask myself is, for what am I praising Him? It's much easier for me to praise Him and thank Him when things are going well. But if He's good then it doesn't matter if things are going well or poorly. If God is good then He's always worthy of my praise. And if I can learn, by His grace, to continually thank Him for who He is, to find my joy not in what He does but in who He is, how much more will I bring Him glory! John Owen said, 'That God is what He is, is the matter of (our) chiefest joy.' May we learn to glory not just in what our God does--rather, may we learn to glory in who our God is. To rest in Him, to worship Him, to find our joy and peace and comfort in Him. God is good even when it's humid. May my life demonstrate that truth.
Thanks for writing this. It is particularly helpful to me. Oh how easy we forget when things are tough!
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