God's Goodness

 

My back hurts.  My shoulders hurt.  The back of my arms hurt.  My thighs hurt.  My stomach muscles hurt.  But strangely, I feel satisfied this morning.  And the reason is that I went caving Saturday.  I took a group of twenty-something young people and spent three hours investigating tunnels, holes, and squeezes.  And the deeper that we went under Sand Mountain, the more philosophical I became.  All of these complicated underground pathways are there to be explored, but most people have no idea that they are there - right under where they live and drive.  I am reminded of the Lord’s goodness that gives us life every day.  God sustains us, but we are mostly unaware of His powerful benevolence.  Lamentations 3:22&23, “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”  May we be aware of God’s goodness today, and may we be grateful to Him, is my prayer.

The Past

 

I have been going to cardiac rehab for three years this coming September, and all of those years have been post-covid.  One of the last covid reminders was the “dirty” and the “clean” pencil containers on the counter.  I was pleasantly surprised this past Friday morning to find that the “dirty” and the “clean” containers were gone and a single pencil container was there.  Just pencils.  Nothing to remind me of those terrible covid days.  Hey, I’m still trying to remember to cough into my sleeve and not into my hand, like I learned in Miss Gagean’s class in 1960.  My old, “good habit” was no longer proper in 2020.  My, my, how things have changed.  And the simple pencil container was a back-to-normalcy reminder that brought a smile to my face.  I’m glad to forget covid!  And I’m even more glad to forget my sins.  I’m so glad that Jesus took my sins away, and now I can get on with life in Him.  Oh. I still struggle with sins, but the dear Lord has given me a new purpose and a new life.  I’m glad that the old life is gone!  Micah 7:18&19, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? … he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”  And like those dark covid days, my odious sins are in the past to be remembered no more!

Internal Time Clock

 

I have an internal time clock, and last night, I put it to the test.  Let me explain.  Yesterday was a busy day.  Marleen made supper and invited me over (Yummy!).  And afterwards, we went to church to install carpeting in her Sunday school classroom.  We worked a little too long in the evening, so I got home late.  But when I started unloading the contents of my pockets onto the dresser, I discovered that I had left my cellphone at church.  Bummer!  It was late and too far to drive, so I decided just to get my cellphone Friday morning.  But alas, my phone is also my morning alarm clock.  I was so tired that I thought: If I wake up on time, I wake up; if I don’t, I’ll just skip exercise and sleep in.  But This morning (Friday morning), I woke up at 4:18 am instead of my usual 4:15 am.  Not bad timing!  My internal clock was within 3 minutes!  The apostle Paul spoke of good timing in Romans 13:11, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”  Hey, it’s time to get busy for the Lord, because the coming of Jesus Christ is nearer than it was when Paul wrote those words almost 2,000 years ago.  So, good advice Paul.  Get busy for the Lord before it’s too late!