Every year, I feel like God gives me single-word themes for what is to come. For 2016, I received two words. The first was restraint. The second word was goodness.
Goodness.
It’s a word I don’t use much in my everyday language, but it is everywhere in scripture.
I especially like this passage:
“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” declares the Lord. – Jeremiah 31:14
Jeremiah must have been especially relieved to talk about God’s goodness after so much doom and gloom. The Bible records that he was nearly killed by the people (in chapter 26) for all the judgment words he delivered. There is a reason he is called the weeping prophet.
Here is what I heard God say to me about goodness:
I want to teach your heart a way of living that absolutely expects the best.
The negative, foreboding thoughts will be conquered [this year] by first-hand experiences with my goodness.
The taste of all the good I have done and will be constant – like granules of sugar on your lips. And as you experience this, your mind will be renewed.
You will expect the best.
You will have peace about your health and the health of your family.
And you will be able to encourage others from a genuine place of first-hand experience.
Almost immediately after hearing these things, I started experiencing goodness in many ways.
We found a dresser for our office on Craigslist and negotiated a price of $200. When we picked it up, the people gave it to us for free. Perfect strangers. They said they googled us, and discovered that we were believers and wanted to bless us.
Goodness.
I have been going to physical therapy for about 6 months and have spent a significant amount of money to do so. We don’t have insurance (we use medical bill sharing) so I assumed the costs weren’t covered. To my surprise and delight, I received $1,470 in reimbursements for every penny I had paid out of pocket. This was an especially significant “goodness moment,” because I have a really hard time spending money on myself - even for legitimate needs like PT. It was almost like God was saying: “you take care of you, and I’ll take care of you.”
Goodness.
I left the house at 6:50 am a few weeks ago and experienced the most stunning sunrise on my drive to San Francisco.
Goodness.
I had an 8:30 am meeting in the East Bay and was really dreading the commute. I expected stop and go traffic the entire drive. Google Maps routed me to Crow Canyon Road, and instead of bumper cars I got 13 + miles of rolling green hills and flocks of sheep. Sheep!
Bonus: I was 10 minutes early for my meeting.
Goodness.
There have been many other moments, and I have recorded most of them in my gratitude journal. It’s a notebook where I have a running list of things, people, experiences, and moments I am thankful for. I was inspired to start one after reading 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp.
Recording God’s goodness has made me wonder if, perhaps, part of what he wants me to learn is how to look for His goodness and acknowledge it when I see it.
Perhaps what will conquer my negative, foreboding thoughts is simply taking a moment to recognize goodness when I experience it.
Perhaps the act alone of being grateful – of giving thanks – is what His goodness is all about.
Romans 1 has this to say about thankfulness:
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man…
If not giving thanks is the beginning of the downward spiral, then perhaps giving thanks is the first step on the ladder out of darkness and into light, life, and goodness.