The goodness of God
Recently my wife Cathy posted the lyrics of the popular Christian song, “The Goodness of God” by C.C. Winans on Facebook.
This song has quickly become one of our favorites, and expresses the reality of our own experiences: “I love You, Lord; For Your mercy never fails me. All my days I've been held in Your hand. From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head, Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God. 'Cause all my life You have been faithful; And all my life You have been so, so good.
"With every breath that I am able, Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God. I love Your voice; You have lead me through the fire.
"In darkest nights, You are close like no other. I've known You as a father; I've known You as a friend, And I have lived in the good-ness of God. Your goodness is running after, Is running after me. Your goodness is running after, Is running after me.
"With my life laid down, I surrender now; I give You everything, oh Lord. Your goodness is running after, Is running after me.”
The song repeats the chorus and bridge, but the lyrics are the same. This song also expresses in a new way the way I have felt about my life from the beginning. In both college and seminary I was assigned to write my spiritual autobiography. Both times I entitled them “A Life Most Blessed.” When the first memory of your life is accepting Jesus as your Savior, and you do your best to make Him Lord each day, your life is going to be most blessed – as I can testify.
I think I’ve shared before that many years ago I adopted Psalm 16 as my personal psalm. From beginning to end, it summarizes my life. I won’t quote all of it, but I encourage you to read it for yourself and rejoice in the parts that you identify with. The verse I want to highlight today is verse 6: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
Everywhere I have lived in my life has been a wonderful blessing (several places in the States, as well as Cyprus in the Mediterranean). But the place that has been “home” the longest is here in Sandpoint, for the past 25 years. I like to joke that it wasn’t named “THEE Most Beautiful Small Town in America” until WE moved here, but it already was. When we moved here after Dad passed to his eternal reward in 1998, we fell in love with the family of God that we pastored, and the community as a whole. We indeed experienced a “delightful inheritance," which has just capped “A Life Most Blessed” with “The Goodness of God”.
Thank you Sandpoint and Bonner County for being the “Most Blessed” part of “The Goodness of God” in our lives. May God continually bless YOU with His Goodness.
The Rev. Jon Pomeroy is co-director of Helping Hands Healing Hearts.