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| I love You, Lord; Oh, Your mercy never fails me. All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands. From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my life, You have been faithful. All my life, You have been so so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I love Your voice; You have led me through the fire. | In darkest night, You are close like no other. I’ve known You as a father; I’ve known You as a friend. I have lived in the goodness of God. Your goodness is running after, It’s running after me. Your goodness is running after, It’s running after me. With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now; I give You everything. Your goodness is running after, It’s running after me. |
At the time of writing this devotion, I am teaching through the book of Job at Anchor Christian Academy. We have talked so much about human suffering in light of God’s sovereignty. Why do bad things happen to good people? In short, sometimes God allows suffering to occur not because of one’s sin, but because, simply, in His own will and divine rule, He allows it. And sometimes, God allows suffering to occur that eventually leads to great healing so that He may be glorified. Which brings us to “Goodness Of God.” I begin this brief devotional thought with the lessons from Job as a prerequisite: “Goodness Of God” is not a hymn that promises good things to always come to the believer. No, we are assured that we “will have suffering in this world,” but we must “Be courageous! [Jesus has] have conquered the world” (John 16:33 CSB).
So what should we make of the hymn? The words of the bridge call to mind the end of Psalm 23: “Your goodness is…running after me.” And the hymn sings the truth: God’s goodness is eternally faithful. Even when we suffer, His grace is present. The second verse states “In darkest night, You are close like no other.” The second verse also recalls what God has done: “You have led me through the fire…I’ve known You as a father, I’ve known You as a friend…” And the chorus sings of the eternal faithfulness of God: “All my life, You have been faithful. All my life, You have been so, so good.” When we suffer in this life, God’s goodness and faithfulness do not wane. Remember Job’s words–that no matter our lot in life, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21 NKJV).
Faithful God, we have seen Your goodness all over our lives. Because we know what You were faithful before, we know that You will ever be faithful. When we forget Your goodness, help us to remember. Then, let us say that whatever our lot, Thou hast taught us to say “It is well with our souls.” Amen.