THE GOODNESS OF GOD

by Tammy Phillips
August 1, 2022

“The goodness of God [endures] continually.”  (Psalm 52:1 NKJV)

We have all heard that God is good.  It is who He is.  It is not His character; it is Him.  He exudes goodness.  It is what He does.  He cannot help himself because He loves us that much.

When the Lord does something so incomprehensible that only He can orchestrate, it is hard to put into words.  I am going to attempt to tell you of the goodness of God demonstrated in my life this past weekend.  My heavenly Bridegroom chose to partner with my earthly husband to bless my socks off, once again, in celebration of our anniversary.

First thing on  Saturday morning, during my time with the Lord,  I cannot tell you what led me to listen to The Goodness of God by CeCe Winans , but I did.  I immediately  shared it with my Facebook friends and a few others with wishes of a happy Saturday.  Holy Spirit continued by leading me on a journey through devotions and His word where He told me of His goodness.  He drew me nearer into His presence with His loving words.

One of the last things I read before I went off to celebrate my 29^th anniversary with my earthly husband was from my heavenly groom written by  Charles Spurgeon in his Morning and Evening Reading:

“I am married unto you.” (Jeremiah 31:14 NKJV)

“Full of burning affection He toiled, like Jacob for Rachel, until the whole of her purchase-money had been paid, and now, having sought her by His Spirit, and brought her to know and love Him, He awaits the glorious hour when their mutual bliss shall be consummated at the marriage-supper of the Lamb… but she is even now the bride, the spouse of Jesus, dear to His heart, precious in His sight, written on His hands, and united with His person. On earth He exercises towards her all the affectionate offices of Husband. He makes rich provision for her wants, pays all her debts, allows her to assume His name, and to share in all His wealth. Nor will He ever act otherwise to her. The word divorce He will never mention, for “He hated putting away.” Death must sever the conjugal tie between the most loving mortals, but it cannot divide the links of this immortal marriage.”

 I know how much my husband Kris’ loves me and it is just hard to fathom how much the Lord loves me and you.  He chose to remind me of how precious I was to Him.   Words every woman (and man) wants to hear.   The Lord filled me with His love, mercy, and goodness.

It was time to find out how Kris and I were going to celebrate our anniversary.  I had no clue;  truthfully, I had one… my daughter-in-law had let it slip that we were going to a concert.  The clue didn’t help.  I patiently awaited as we drove towards Nashville.  We ended up at  the Grand Ole Opry which was celebrating Barbara Mandrell’s  50^th  year of induction.  Excitedly, Kris told me Carrie Underwood, who we both love, would be singing and he listed a few others. 

Let me back up and tell you, we were supposed to celebrate by making a trip to Athens, Georgia where we were married.  I backed out for various reasons earlier in the week.   I had no idea how he had pulled this ticket off in such a short time frame. (Many  thanks to the unnamed “blessing” who helped make this happen!)

We arrived at will-call to a surprise!  We had center stage tickets a few rows back from the stage (Perspective…Barbara Mandrell sat two rows ahead of us.) And, we were given tickets for the Circle Room, a place where a “star” talks before the show, and one is treated with food and beverages.  WOW.  Our heavenly Father had favored us both. 

Bear with me,  I am not short on words now…

What Kris knew and kept to himself until I heard it from the Opry announcer, CeCe WINANS was part of the line-up! Talk about Holy Spirit ordering steps!   Blown away by His goodness was an understatement to how I felt. 

The show was very good.  I had loved listening to Barbara growing up.  Every star honored her with one of her songs and then one or two of theirs.  When it was CeCe’s turn, she opened with Mandrell’s song, “He set my life to music. He gave me words to sing. He set my life to music.  Now it’s a symphony.”   After she gave a short testimony of her relationship with the Mandrell’s and how open Barbara was with her faith.  Then…CeCe simply stood before the mike and began singing her song, you know, THE ONE I had listened to and posted about earlier in the day.  YES!  That song… “The Goodness of God.”  Needless to say, I was in tears, consumed by His goodness, and how he had planned this very moment with husband.  I do not believe that I could have received any gift that was more precious to me.  That’s my husband.  That’s my God.  A dangerous duo for good.

“For the LORD [is] good; His mercy [is] everlasting, And His truth [endures] to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5 NKJV)

I enCOURAGE you to develop your relationship with the Lord!  Is my God your Lord?  He is and can be your God, too, if you accept His son Jesus.  Do you abide in Him?  Are you obedient to His word?   I am neither of the two all the time and that is why we all need Jesus.   I am so thankful for His goodness, mercy, lovingkindness, patience, and  forgiveness…the list goes on and on. 

Heavenly Father wants to have the same kind of encounters with you. He is a good, good Father.  It is who He is.  He is a loving Groom awaiting His perfected Bride, that is me and you.  I am not there yet, but together, He and I, are working on it.  How about you?

“The LORD [is] good to all, And His tender mercies [are] over all His works.” (Psalm 145:9 NKJV)

Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Kris,  for a great weekend!